Dance the Devil

Fitzcarraldo	For the Birds 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 an...	The Cost You're three tracks into The Cost before you find a song, "The Rise," that opens with anything but singer Glen Hansard's voice as the first thing you hear. The beauty is, you're waiting for the voice, with its hints of Cat Stevens's tonality and its utterly distinct Irish lift. I...	Burn the Maps On their first studio album in nearly four years, the Frames have opted for a fuller, more adventurous sound than on 2001's Steve Albini-produced For the Birds, although this placid, smoky-bar ambiance owes more to 'Birds than to 1999's Dance The Devil. From the opening acoustic ...	The Swell Season Frames front man Hansard has teamed up with classically trained Czech vocalist and pianist, Irglova to produce this album of affecting songs and compositions. From straight songs to piano instrumentals, "The Swell Season" affords an insight into a whole other side of Glen/The Fra...
The Roads Outgrown	Set List Hugely popular in their homeland of Ireland, the Frames top the charts and play to 30,000 people in Dublin. The aptly-titled live album is their fifth and the one they're hoping will connect in America. The quintet's sound draws upon such acts as the Clash (with whom they share a...	Once: Music from the Motion Picture Even those allergic to musicals may be won over by Once, a tender-hearted Irish romance with songs by Czech Republic-born Markéta Irglová and Frames frontman Glen Hansard. (The film's director, John Carney, actually used to play bass in the group.) The trick here is that Irglov...	Once Studio: Tcfhe Release Date: 10/14/2008 Run time: 86 minutes Rating: R	The Swell Season Live From The Artists Den Known to the world from Indie film sensation "ONCE", THE SWELL SEASON is Irish singer Glen Hansard (of the band The Frames) and Czech newcomer Marketa Irglova.On a Crisp Autumn night shortly before receiving one Acadamy Award and two Grammy Award Nominations for music from "ONCE"...

This goes with me to the desert island
I've crammed the entire Frames oevre in the last few months and IMO this is the best of a mighty good bunch. Not a skippable track on it. From ballad to Stadium to the satisfyingly disturbing "Hollocaine" and REM-ish "Rent Day Blues" you wont be disappointed. Fitzcarraldo is a great disc too but this is the classic that should have made them huge worldwide.

Celebrate Good Times
Glen Hansard is the center of a band that by now has gained popularity in the States. They are already adored in Ireland as the second coming of U2. But that is where the similarities stop. The Frames are closer to Wilco than U2. And Glen Hansard is not Bono and does not intend to be (He has played with Jeff Tweedy and the gang). Having said all of that... Dance the Devil plays like a Wilco album. Highlights include Rent Day Blues (which has a nice continuous beat with soft spoken vocals and subdued guitars) and Seven Day Mile (which has Glen Hansard letting everyone know that he can deliver the kind of vocals that are now common in recent Frames albums... Burn the Maps and The Cost). Compared to what's out there this album is superior. But the 4 STARS comes from comparing this album to the rest of the Frames works. And while that is unfair to the band, it is inevitable for fans. The album is still great to someone new to The Frames brand of music... which should convince you of how good this one is... and how great the other Frames albums are.

Brilliant
Honestly, I could write endlessly about how incredible this band is both on cd and live in concert but I really wouldn't be saying anything different from all the other reviewers. I guess the greatest compliment I can give Glen and the rest of the band is that on Friday, I am flying from Vancouver, Canada to London for four days and my sole reason for going is to attend The Frames show on February 20, 2007. If you get the chance to see this amazing band live, you should grab it. They are the #1 live band. Glen has to be seen to be believed.........

revelate this
an immense letdown. i first heard of this Irish band when i heard of their legendary sessions with the great obscure band OTT. Unfortunately this album does not have that same authentic raw groove that ott's album has There are some risible moments especially the album standout 'Star Star' which gives the sensation of Glen whispering harshly into the ear. It is the one song in which could have been written in the framses OTT days. They are undoubtably a very interesting band with a small future ahead them. Aiming this album at the teenybopper market does them no favours at all.

Addictive...
A CD that should be in your collection. I think it is the best Frames CD in print. It will take you several listens to get into this CD, but once hooked, you are hooked. Buy it, keep it in your CD player and play it in the background for a couple of days. You will be hooked.