FRAMES

This is the album that proves that OCEANSIZE are a force to be reckoned with in modern prog. Where EVERYONE INTO POSITION settled for a tighter, more accessible sound, FRAMES returns to the sprawling beasts of songs that were the raison d'etre of the band's first album. Indeed, the shortest track on the album storms effortlessly past the six and a half minute mark.

The album opens with a slow builder, very post rock in its influences, becoming more and more intense as it reaches its closing moments before bursting into "Unfamiliar", with its pounding guitars that manage to be simultaneously devastating and melodic. Then comes "Trail of Fire", the song that transforms the album from a great piece of music to a work of art. It is powerful, it is beautiful, and it cannot leave the listener unmoved.

From this moment on, you can only imagine that things are going to start heading downhill. Thankfully, though, the two following songs manage to change the tone while maintaining the quality. The sweeping orchestration of "Savant" and the quirky claustrophobia of "Only Twin" are possibly two of the most original pieces the band has written.

"An old friend of the Christies" returns to a more post rock sound, reminiscent of some of MOGWAI's most epic moments. Purely instrumental, the song starts off dark and brooding before breaking out into a full blown bass-driven crescendo. "Sleeping Dogs and Dead Lions" is perhaps the track that is most likely to divide opinion. The pace is rather faster that anything else on the album and the anger and rapid changes throughout make for a difficult first few listens. Once you've got your head around it, though, you realise how great it is with many fantastic riffs. It also provides a way to let off steam between the tension of "An old friend of the Christies" and the slow-buring closer "The Frame".

For those who are lucky enough to be able to get their hands on the limited edition version with bonus track Voorhees, you will be left wondering why the track didn't make it onto the standard album.

Arguably OCEANSIZE's best album to date (I also have something of and emotional attachment to debut EFFLORESCE), for me this is the album that destroys the competition in 2007. For those who enjoyed the likes of PORCUPINE TREE's FEAR OF A BLANK PLANET and ANEKDOTEN's A TIME OF DAY, this album should already be in your collection. For anyone that enjoys exciting but structured modern prog that mixes hard rock and orchestration in equally copious quantities, this album needs to be heard.