Single Frame
http://www.singleframe.net
styles: eclectic synth-driven post-hardcore
others: Milemarker, Death From Above, Me Without You,
Reaching Quiet
 Everything
Wants To Be Used For What It Was Made For
Volcom, 2006
rating: 3/5
reviewer: chadwicked
Single Frame have a hodgepodge of items in the bed of their Dodge pickup.
Adreon Henry is in the driver's seat, Jason Schleter is the navigating
passenger, and Brendan Reilly is on roller-skates with a rope tied around
his waist — the other end of the rope attached to the rear bumper. The
truck bed is full of spare parts. Odds and ends have filled the rear (junk
in the trunk) so that the heap can't make it through certain tunnels.
Touring is difficult for this reason alone. Everything wants to be used
for what it was made for, but everything can't get what it wants. Life
isn't fair, not even to inanimate objects. But this is a remix record; it
also includes demos and fragmented pieces. For this reason, the items in
the back of the truck rattle around, ricocheting off the metallic walls at
every turn (the model doesn't exactly hug curves). The pickup has a Kelly
Blue Book trade-in value of $575; yet, the band has stumbled into a local
Texas parade, right outside of Austin. They haven't emptied out the bed.
In it are saws, a rapper on a microphone, aluminum, vox, a caged fan,
plaster buckets, discarded brake pads, a few crusty paintbrushes, an old
television with knobs, a rainbow-colored xylophone, and a blender. The
truck bucks its front end, the grill and radiator pointing to the sky, and
stampedes the marching band, the veterans with their poppies, and the
mayor. Single Frame must compensate for damages. They sing with slacker
drawls, rap with traditional cadences, shout through crunchy microphones,
hammer out slimy synth lines, nitpick over which guitar strings to pluck,
and invite friends to add their own eclectic ingredients. The crowd likes
the gesture and will reciprocate by presenting Single Frame with the key
to the city at the conclusion of the parade. Unfortunately, the Dodge
pickup breaks down a couple blocks prior to reaching the grandstand and
the band has to carry their equipment — their remix record — home. The
townspeople applaud the band's efforts.
1. Icon
2. Guess What Angle
3. Taken For A Walk (Unreleased Dimeshot)
4. Silver Crime Lining (Abandonded Demo
5. Clippership (Machine Mix)
6. Exact Copy (Witch Dr. Remix by J-Mprint)
7. Nobody
8. Flying Circus (Apartment Mix)
9. Damaged (Fragments)
10. Post Daydream (First Day Demo)
11. Floral Design (Straight Line Remix by J-Mprint)
12. Sores For Change
13. Underground @ Noon (Sunlight Hits Remix by Creepy Kid)
14. Dry Lips (Car Stereo (Wars) Remix by Chris Rose)
15. People Are Germs (Monster Mash-Up Remix by Creepy Kid)
16. Digital Witness (Protection Remix by Creepy Kid)
17. Float Over Oregon
 Body/End/Basement
Volcom, 2005
rating: 3/5
reviewer: stevie
Like career inventors, musicians are indeed thinking these days, whether
for better or worse. Increasing difficulty to pigeonhole said thinkers has
made its own genre of ecclectitians surely spawned by lonely nights with
Ian Mckaye and Mike Patton. Single Frame, who are one of these
proprietors, induct themselves into this club on their new album
Body/End/Basement. They have a penchant for the equally calm and
aggressive, all tied to together by aggressive synth work and highly mixed
drums. Apparently, the album was recorded in four locations -- a work
shed, a kitchen, a bathroom, and a studio. Upon listening, though, it is
unapparent why this was necessary other than to say that they've done it.
Most of the songs, however, are pretty good. They hang together through
the type of loosely connected noodlings that gave the Unicorns success.
Their intensity and penchant for effects also produces interesting
recordings that make attention easy to hold. Some songs like "Culture
Medium" and the killer closer "Make Yourself" hold together very well and
give way to triumphant crescendos and unusually overdriven
instrumentation. In the end, though, like their recording location, the
music is somewhat overstated. Lyrics like "I got strung out/ I got
strung out on your sound" and "Audio and visual blur together/ They
look the same" aren't exactly the stuff of poets. Their manic
attitude, too, seems to show not that they are bursting with ideas, but
rather that they want to be considered manic and eclectic. This album may
not get loads of attention press-wise, but for parties traditionally
interested in this sort of thing, it is surely worth a listen.
1. Stuffed Animal Wall
2. I'll Lose Your Balance
3. New Blank Document
4. Culture Medium
5. Lost Pines (Dream & Body)
6. Exact Copy Of This In The Basement
7. Flying Circus, The
8. Through The Wires
9. People Are Germs
10. Digital Witness
11. Underground @ Noon
12. Slum Pioneer
13. Second Handshake
14. Field Recorder One
15. Facts About Doors
16. Tiny Whispers
17. Make Yourself
 Wetheads
Come Running
Already Gone, 2003
rating: 5/5
reviewer: amneziak
I absolutely love the Internet. Without it, I think I would truly
be miserable. I would hate to have to force myself to watch all the
excruciatingly horrible TV shows that have recently become the norm. With
the exception of a play-off game or two, I pretty much try to stay clear
of TV at all costs. I mean, what other invention besides the Internet has
really made life as bearable? I can easily remember a time when it wasn’t
available and how difficult it was to find someone who could recommend
good music. The only thing I’d be exposed to were the typical “alt-rock”
bands that I basically had to accept simply because that’s all there
was. Over the last five years or so, the Internet has become an
unparalleled source for music information.
Reading about some of today’s most unknown/under-appreciated bands has
become a part of my daily routine; it makes me wonder how many bands were
overlooked due to this previous constraint. Thanks to sites like ours
(hopefully), our colleagues over at Pitchfork, and a long list of other
independent music reviewers, we now have the ability to learn about bands
who otherwise would have never seen the light of day. This medium has
truly changed things forever, and hopefully is exposing a lot of
independent artists who are attempting to get their music out to the
public.
With that said, I must give proper respect to the guys over at Pitchfork
for exposing Single Frame to a lot of people. I bet the band is having a
hell of a time keeping up with the orders (including mine) that have been
placed for this wonderful album called Wetheads Come Running. When
you visit their web site, you’ll see that they’ve personally made their
own packaging for this album. It’s this do-it-yourself aesthetic that is
one of the many appealing aspects about this release. One of the others is
that in just under forty minutes, Single Frame challenges to take you on
ride through an onslaught of collage-rock songs. Hailing from the
trendiest college town in Texas, this Austin-based trio is about to set
the underground electro-punk movement on its side.
To list any influences would have me writing for quite some time.
There are at least a hundred snippets on this album that remind me of
something I’ve heard before. The beautiful part, however, is that it’s
almost as if Single Frame have taken the single best moments of histories
premier albums and glued them together into their own beloved child. Like
Beck and DJ Shadow (who both use collage as a way of creating their own
music), Single Frame does so without the use of turntables or loads of
computer equipment. Never sounding strained or interfering, Wetheads
Come Running shows this is a release that somehow has everything in
just the right place.
Most of the tracks on Wetheads Come Running are separated by small
snippets of dialogue or phone operators. To fully describe each song would
be a large task to take on. Due to the fact that they are all somewhat
different, I’ll just attempt to pick some of the best. The first track,
“Floral Design In A Straight Line,” leads off with playful keyboards that
are strangely reminiscent of the music that is played while turning the
handle on a jack-in-the-box. It’s then taken into an aggressive vocal and
bass number, only to be brought right back to the beginning. “$7 Haircut”
pushes onward with hammering keyboards that are as fuzzed out as one could
imagine. Personally, I think the song is better than anything The Faint or
Trans Am has ever released. Two tracks that seem to be the highlights are
“Mod Style ‘68” and “Comm. Jet (Creepykid Remix).” The latter sounding as
if it’s the long lost brother of a Broken Social Scene song. With the
catchiest rhythm and clever lyrics, it proves to be one of the best songs
of the year.
One thing that might burden Wetheads Come Running is that many will
compare them to other bands that they’ve loved in the past, leading them
to dismiss the album as derivative or unimaginative. However, nothing
could be further from the truth. I’ve heard all the albums this could be
compared to, and believe it or not, Single Frame actually does a lot
better job than the bulk of those artists in making an entire album that
is both evocative and progressive. The fact that these young men formed
out of necessity proves that some things work out for the better. If
Wetheads Come Running is just a small taste of what’s to come of this
young, talented new band, I shall sit patiently and wait for the next
album.
1. Floral Design In A Straight Line
2. $7 Haircut
3. Rare Paintings
4. Post Daydream Forecast Endeavor
5. In the Ground
6. Mod Style “68
7. Miracle Ear
8. The Slip
9. I’ve Been to a Party at This House
10. Comm. Jet (Creepykid Remix)
11. Operadora 2 + 1
12. Eavesdropper Goes Solo
13. Skintone
14. 3 Bloodless Shadows
15. Skintone, Pt. 2
16. Spacedust and Handcuffs
17. Taxidermy Heads
18. New Car Smell
19. Tired of Waking Up
20. Let’s Techno for Christmas
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