Frame & Canvas

Frame & Canvas is the third studio album by American rock band Braid. Drummer Roy Ewing left the band in early 1997 and was replaced by Damon Atkinson. The group spent the rest of the year touring and writing material for their next release. Recording took place at Inner Ear Studios in December 1997 with J. Robbins and them producing the sessions. Frame & Canvas is an emo and post-hardcore album with lyrics co-written by vocalist/guitarists Chris Broach and Bob Nanna, or solely from Nanna.

Frame & Canvas
Studio album by
Braid
ReleasedApril 7, 1998
RecordedDecember 1997
StudioInner Ear
Genre
Length41:51
LabelPolyvinyl
ProducerJ. Robbins, Braid
Braid chronology
The Age of Octeen
(1996)		 Frame & Canvas
(1998)		 Movie Music, Vol. 1
(2001)

Preceded by a European tour with the Get Up Kids, Frame & Canvas released on April 7, 1998 through independent label Polyvinyl Record Co. It received a mainly favourable response from music critics, with comments praising the songs' melodies. It would go on to sell over 16,000 copies by July 2004. Tours across the US, Canada, Europe and Japan followed with the likes of Compound Red, Discount and Burning Airlines. Frame & Canvas has appeared on best-of album lists for the emo genre by publications such as Kerrang!, NME and Rolling Stone.

Background and production

Following the release of The Age of Octeen in 1996,[1] the group played shows around Illinois, Wisconsin and Missouri in September and October.[2] Between November 1996 and January 1997, the band toured southern and west coast states. Following a handful of shows in February,[2] drummer Roy Ewing departed from the group in March.[3] He was replaced by Damon Atkinson of Figurehead;[3] Atkinson had previously filled in for Ewing when he was unable to book time off work for a tour. Atkinson was a fan of the band and Ewing's drumming; when he came to practice, they felt he was the perfect replacement.[4] Touring continued throughout the year; they played with the likes of the Get Up Kids, Tomorrow and Compound Red, among others.[2]

During this time, the group were writing material for their next album while attending college; vocalist/guitarist Chris Broach dropped out as the band was becoming more active.[5] "First Day Back" and "Hugs from Boys" were recorded in August;[6] following this, the band was on a full cross-country trek with Rainer Maria in October.[2] To coincide with the trek, they released the two songs on a 7" vinyl record through independent label Polyvinyl Record Co.[7] The members used to skateboard with co-founder Matt Lunsford before they became a band;[8] him and co-founder Darcie Knight organised the group's first ever show in 1993.[5]

The day vocalist/guitarist Bob Nanna graduated from college, the band travelled to Washington, D.C. to record their next album.[5] Frame & Canvas was made in December 1997[9] at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington, Virginia with J. Robbins and the band acting as producers.[10] The group had met Robbins two times prior to them asking him to help with Frame & Canvas.[5] They approached due to him working on albums by the Promise Ring and Kerosene 454.[4] Robbins served as the engineer and also mixed the recordings;[10] the total recording and mixing process collectively lasted six days,[9] with the recording days lasting for 13 hours each.[4]

Composition

Musically, the sound of Frame & Canvas has been described as emo and post-hardcore, landing between the late 1990s midwest emo and D.C post-hardcore acts such as Fugazi and Jawbox (the latter of which Robbins was a member of).[5] All of the music was written by Braid; Nanna wrote lyrics for seven of the tracks, and co-wrote the rest with Broach.[11] Broach came up with the title Frame & Canvas, which is taken from "Killing a Camera". Nanna said it referred to "some kind of art school thing."[5] Broach has a bigger vocal role on the album, compared to previous releases; he explained it was due to him being "sick of being pushed down in the mix."[4] The opening track "The New Nathan Detroits" begins with a math rock drum introduction from Atkinson.[12] It sees Broach and Nanna discuss job prospects with their parents. "Never Will Come for Us" included references to being an underground act that didn't get airplay, and playing shows at friends' house parties.[5] "First Day Back" was written after arriving home from their late 1996/early 1997 tour, and is about settling back after being gone for a while.[6] "Collect from Clark Kent" is an atypical midwest emo track, which talks about a breakdown in communication and long-distance issues.[5]

"Milwaukee Sky Rocket" was initially titled "Sky Rocket", until Atkinson – who was from Milwaukee, Wisconsin – joined the group. The group were working on "A Dozen Roses" in Nanna's parents' basement when Atkinson began playing what Nanna called "this cool beat ... immediately once he started playing. 'This is different.'"[5] Robbins added tambourine to the track.[11] Discussing "Urbana's Too Dark", Borach said Urbana, Illinois was where the members lived alongside "the art kids and music kids. The frats were in Champaign and the old guard", such as Hum and Poster Children.[5] The track's title referred to a movement that called for more street lights in the town due to sexual assaults that were occurring. With "Consolation Prize Fighter", the members felt there was competition from other bands, especially from their friends' bands, to make great albums and songs.[5] It, alongside "Urbana's Too Dark", was written in 1995.[4] "Ariel" was about living under one roof with people in bands while wishing the music they were making in the basement was happening upstairs.[5] Robbins played an extra drum kit on "Breathe In",[11] which Broach was highly impressed by. According to him, the song was about "trying to be the best person."[5] Nanna said to occupy himself on tour he would write a lot of the time; the lyrics of "I Keep a Diary" were verbatim from a journal entry.[5]

Release

Between January and March 1998, the band went on a tour of Europe with the Get Up Kids.[2] Frame & Canvas was released on April 7 through Polyvinyl.[13] It was promoted with a stint across the US with Compound Red until early May. The band immediately went back on tour with the Get Up Kids throughout May, and various acts in June. In August, they played one show in their home state, before embarking on a Canadian tour with Discount. Following this, they embarked on a east coast tour in October and early November. Throughout the rest of November and December, the band toured across Europe with Robbins' group Burning Airlines.[2]

After a handful of northeast US shows,[2] the band went on a west coast tour with Seaweed and 365 Days of Pure Movie Magic in March 1999.[14] They went on a cross-country tour throughout April with Kind of Like Spitting, before embarking on a Japanese tour with Eversor in May.[2] In June, the band announced they would be breaking up due to "internal stress".[15] It was later revealed that Broach wanted to return to school and had little interest in the band by this point.[16] Aside from playing a friend's wedding, the band played their last few shows in August, including a hometown performance.[2] A recording from this latter show was later released as the Lucky to Be Alive (2000) live album.[17] Footage from the group's last five days was included in the band's Killing a Camera (2001) documentary film.[18]

Reception and legacy
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[13]
LAS Magazine7.8/10[19]

AllMusic reviewer Blake Butler noted the band came up with "very technical pop melodies", accompanied by frequent time signature changes.[13] He liked the "beautiful interlocking" guitar lines, which were "fused together with yelled/sung boyish vocals" from Broach and Nanna.[13] The record cemented itself as one of the group's best works, even going as far to say by the end of the firs track "you know you will be humming these melodies in your head for at least the next few days."[13] LAS Magazine founder Eric J. Herboth said it was "he record that is going to blow things wide open for Braid."[19] He added that the group found an "equally amazing drummer" in Atkinson, a "candy coated plush sound" and a "new best friend" with Robbins.[19]

As of July 2004, Frame & Canvas has sold over 16,000 copies.[20] It has appeared on various best-of emo album lists by Kerrang!,[21] LA Weekly,[22] NME,[23] and Rolling Stone.[24] Similarly, "A Dozen Roses" appeared on a best-of emo songs list by Vulture.[25] OC Weekly said the album establish Polyvinyl and pushed the band as an important figure in the emo scene.[26] The album was an important snapshot of second-wave emo and the indie rock scene that was based in Champagin, Illinois during the mid-1990s.[5] Nanna ranked it as his second favorite Braid album: "You can hear the fact that we really needed to nail it and you can tell we’re nervous but excited and really pressed for time. But I’m still happy with the way it sounds."[9] In 2012, the group embarked on a two-week US tour where they performed Frame & Canvas in its entirety.[27]

Track listing

All music by Braid, lyricist noted below in brackets.[11]

  1. "The New Nathan Detroits" (Bob Nanna, Chris Broach) – 4:18
  2. "Killing a Camera" (Nanna, Broach) – 2:34
  3. "Never Will Come for Us" (Nanna, Broach) – 3:31
  4. "First Day Back" (Nanna) – 3:22
  5. "Collect from Clark Kent" (Nanna) – 3:26
  6. "Milwaukee Sky Rocket" (Broach, Nanna) – 3:13
  7. "A Dozen Roses" (Nanna) – 4:15
  8. "Urbana's Too Dark" (Nanna) – 3:26
  9. "Consolation Prize Fighter" (Nanna) – 3:13
  10. "Ariel" (Nanna) – 2:38
  11. "Breathe In" (Broach, Nanna) – 2:16
  12. "I Keep a Diary" (Nanna) – 5:47

Personnel

Personnel per booklet.[10]

Braid

Additional musicians

  • J. Robbins – extra percussion (tracks 5 and 11)

Production

  • J. Robbins – engineer, mixing, producer
  • Braid – producer
  • Andy Mueller – design, photography
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References
  1. "The Age of Octeen - Braid | Release Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  2. "Braid shows". Braid. Archived from the original on June 17, 2000. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  3. Frey, Tracy. "Braid | Biography & History". AllMusic. Archived from the original on May 8, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  4. Encarnacion, Joe (April 3, 1998). "Short for emotional?: An exclusive interview with Braid". The Daily Illini. Archived from the original on January 6, 2002. Retrieved August 2, 2020.
  5. Cohen, Ian (April 6, 2018). "My Son, Have You Grown: Braid Talk Frame & Canvas 20 Years Later". Stereogum. Archived from the original on June 24, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  6. "First Day Back b/w Hugs From Boys". Braid. Archived from the original on April 18, 1999. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  7. "First Day Back - Braid | Release Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  8. Ozzi, Dan (August 8, 2019). "Polyvinyl Records Co-Founder Picks 10 Important Albums from Their Catalog". Noisey. Vice. Archived from the original on June 13, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  9. Pearlman, Mischa (August 20, 2015). "Rank Your Records: Braid's Bob Nanna Rates the Emo Pioneers' Six Albums". Noisey. Vice. Archived from the original on April 7, 2020. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
  10. Frame & Canvas (booklet). Braid. Polyvinyl Record Co. 1998. PRC-018.CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. "Frame and Canvas". Braid. Archived from the original on April 18, 1999. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  12. Anthony, David (April 6, 2018). "Braid's 'Frame & Canvas' Was Too Ahead of Its Time for Its Own Good". Noisey. Vice. Archived from the original on July 5, 2020. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  13. Butler, Blake. "Frame & Canvas – Braid". AllMusic. Archived from the original on August 15, 2018. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  14. "Braid". Braid. Archived from the original on February 3, 1999. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  15. "Artist News". CMJ New Music Report. Vol. 58 no. 622. June 14, 1999. ISSN 0890-0795.
  16. Bushman, Mike (March 2002). "Hey Mercedes". Modern Fix. Archived from the original on August 17, 2002. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  17. Lucky to Be Alive (booklet). Braid. Glue Factory Records. 2000. GFY70007-2.CS1 maint: others (link)
  18. Killing a Camera 2004 (sleeve). Braid. Bifocal Media. 2004. BFM021.CS1 maint: others (link)
  19. Herboth, Eric J. (October 1, 2004). "Braid Frame & Canvas". LAS Magazine. Archived from the original on February 13, 2017. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  20. Cavalieri, Nate (July 7, 2004). "Emo Money". SF Weekly. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  21. Freitas, Ryan de (May 12, 2020). "The 20 Best Pre-2000s Emo Albums". Kerrang!. Archived from the original on May 26, 2020. Retrieved July 5, 2020.
  22. Whipple, Kelsey (October 10, 2013). "Top 20 Emo Albums in History: Complete List". LA Weekly. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  23. "20 Emo Albums That Have Resolutely Stood The Test Of Time". NME.com. January 14, 2015. Archived from the original on August 16, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
  24. Burgess, Aaron (March 1, 2016). "40 Greatest Emo Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on June 19, 2019. Retrieved June 25, 2020.
  25. Nelson, Brad (February 13, 2020). "The 100 Greatest Emo Songs of All Time". Vulture. Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  26. "Top 10 Emo Bands of the '90s". OC Weekly. July 3, 2013. Archived from the original on December 7, 2019. Retrieved July 6, 2020.
  27. Paul, Aubin (July 19, 2012). "Braid / Owen / Aficionado (Frame and Canvas Album Shows)". Punknews.org. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
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