Singer-Songwriters : For The Birds

For The Birds

CDN$ 13.19

  1. In the Deep Shade
  2. Lay Me Down
  3. What Happens When the Heart Just Stops
  4. Headlong
  5. Fighting on the Stairs
  6. Giving Me Wings
  7. Early Bird
  8. Friends and Foe
  9. Santa Maria
  10. Disappointed
  11. Mighty Sword

Few albums are rich enough with a sense of place that they transport you to a different landscape. Engineered by famed producer Steve Albini, the Frames fourth full-length release, For the Birds, is such an album. But instead of dropping you in Ireland, the band s home, or in any other physical location, For the Birds lures the listener to an interior terrain both familiar and remote. Without a single throwaway track, this album deftly escapes pathos, despite its focus on clichéd indie-pop themes of heartache and loss. A slow pulse-like bass line, rueful violin, mesmerizing guitar, and precise percussion underscore but never underplay Glen Hansard s stripped-bare vocals and lyrics. Hansard asks, So what happens when the heart just stops / Stops caring for anyone? He answers, The hollow in your chest dries up / And you stop believing, a response dispelled as too facile by subsequent tracks. Headlong and Santa Maria nosedive into torment while Early Bird, Fighting on the Stairs, and Friends and Foe pull out. You re left in the middle of a swirl of conflicted emotions. What s remarkable is that For the Birds, rife with mental rifts and ditches, somehow convinces you that you want to stay there. --Cintra Pollack

Fantastic!!!! - That s real good music!!! These songs rocks and in fact this is rock... irish rock better then U2!!! I m so happy to have discover this group because I m far... too far from them!!!

Ireland has never sounded so good. - This Cd is simply amazing. I started on the frames listening to ",Set List", (live album). There studio work is simply jaw-dropping. Songs like ",What happens when the heart stops",, ",giving me wings", and ",friends and foe", are all wonderfull sad pieces. the lyrics on all these songs are also brilliant--its not soppy country style drivel and its not cryptic suicide either. It has a nice poetic sting much like something from a robert frost poem.All in all this is one of the greatest albums ever. dont miss out.

Breathtaking - I recieved this album as a gift, and it is quite good. Tracks in order from wonderful to not-as-wonderful (in my opinion) 10. dissapointed 6. giving me wings 7. early bird 9. santa maria 3. what happens when the heart just stops 4. headlong 1. in the deep shade 8. friends and foe 2. lay me down 11. mighty sword 5. fighting on the stairs

The best of Irish bands - I am utterly addicted to the Frames, and For the Birds is a fantastic album. In my opinion this album is a bit of a departure from their earlier albums but a definite part of a Frames collection. The reworking of What Happens When the Heart Just Stops is mesmorizing and my favorite version. I also love the instrumental beginning track In the Deep Shade. BUT my favorite tune on here is Headlong. Classic!

hauntingly beautiful - I picked this CD up when I was in Ireland, a friend I met there shared this band with me and I was hooked. This is a beautiful Cd that you can listen to over and over again. They are an awesome band with wonderful lyrics and a really good sound. They remind me of Broken Social Scene in some ways but it s that same sort of haunting melody in both groups. I definatly recommend these guys, worth whatever the price.




For The Birds