IN VIA

After a couple of years of "Mosaik", this German band is back with a strong release called "In Via". I loved their music since the first time I listened to them, and got very positive impressions from their debut album. Now, I can say they still impress me because their quality is undeniable, with excellent compositions that make a solid album. This time, they gathered ten songs that make a total time of 60 minutes, in which we will listen mainly to post rock, but with some alternative and progressive rock tendencies.

The introductory track is "Entrance", whose one-minute length is based in a soft piano atmosphere that will lead to "Departure", a song where the post-rock feeling can be appreciated from start to end. Here we can listen to a great combination of explosive moments where the guitars and drums put a lot of energy and emotion, contrasted with soft passages where the piano and guitars produce a sweet and delicate sound. After three minutes a voice speaking can be heard, something very particular of post-rock bands; later, the music explodes and becomes heavier and more emotional, touching one's fibers.

"Encounter" starts with a mellow, charming and delicate sound produced mainly by strings, then, as you can imagine, the music flows creating emotional atmospheres full of textures and nuances that share different emotions. The composition is great, the band manages to intercalate those soft and heavy passages, they are very patient to see in which moment the change comes better, so the song is not really forced, it simply flows. "Calm Wisdom" is a two-minute track where the piano creates a delicate sound, which is wonderfully complemented by a cello. As a result, we have a brief but beautiful passage.

"Stir" is an involving song that gets your attention little by little due to its repetitive (but addictive) sound at first, thanks to the drums and guitars. A minute later it slows down and becomes friendlier, with nice keyboard notes and cool bass lines; then, the energy appears again with that heavier tune, which fortunately never reaches the boundaries of metal. "Reflections" is a wonderful track, its first moments are beautiful with piano and soft drums; it progresses and becomes a bit heavier little by little until like a rollercoaster, they suddenly put you in their softest side, when after five minutes a relaxing atmosphere is created and gives us a breath of fresh air. After six minutes there is a passage with sounds of nature and someone walking in the woods above dried leaves.

Then you will realize you are now listening to "Eris", which is a very good composition with a lot of nuances that create tense atmospheres in some moments, along with a sense of uncertainty. The bass sound is heavy, punched, while the drums are also strong and always well-placed. At minute four there is a change and the melody slows down creating a moment of tranquility, which later will disappear because the heavier and emotional music takes its territory once again. This is one of the finest moments of this album.

"Don't Stay Here" is the longest composition here, and another great one. Here it starts slow and then it flows like the wind. First we can listen to delicate piano making a cute melody, and then the guitars, drums and bass complement the structure and together create a very emotional front that if you are in the mood, it may cause you goosebumps. Later it slows down and creates a very peaceful, beautiful atmosphere that lasts for two or three minutes, just before the song explodes again and finishes with that emotional sound.

The same energy is implemented in "End of A Decade" which has a powerful beginning with a heavy bass and great keyboard atmosphere that create a tense and angry mood. As usual, it only lasts for a minute and then the music totally changes, slowing down considerably and adding new colors to the images. Later we have a wonderful passage where the drums play at its highest, giving even more emotion to the sound, which is also complemented by some strings sound (I believe it is a cello, but I'm afraid it was done actually by keyboards).

The last track is "Coda". A song with a delicate piano that produces a classical sound, and is accompanied by soft and distant atmospheres. The voice speaking reappears here for some time, and later the music becomes a bit heavier, without losing the importance of the piano, but now giving more exposure to drums, bass and guitar. The sound is very emotional, as usual.

What a great album by Frames, and though I still can't decide if I like more the debut or this, I can say I am happy with their music. My final grade four stars.

Enjoy it!

Neo prog or Post Rock ?

Definitely not neo prog as its definition is .

This was the first dissapoint I had when I listened to this album . I expected a good neo prog work from Germany.

I really don,t like too much the post rock line of prog....but I know and have enjoyed many bands of post rock.

I prefer melodic prog rock.

This album is mostly post rock with some addition of heavy prog or space rock sometimes.

As neo prog an awful album.

As post rock :If you compare this work with works of Tortoise,Bark Psychosis or Mogwai(for ex.) this is not a good work. I read in the presentation of the group in this page ...they want to sound unique very original.. Sorry no unique or original post rock music.

So for a Neo prog work 1 star. For a post rock album 2 stars.