Many people had expected another Frames album to be pretty much like the last one; indie, rock and a few quieter moments all interspersed with beautiful violins. However if the first single God Bless Mom was not enough to warn fans of the new Frames direction, this album certainly is. The wonderfully moving Neath the Beeches, conjures up memories of Fitzcarraldo's highlight Your Face, proving that the band can still create poignant, affecting songs with emotion and intensity so palpable in Hansard's voice, anyone not overcome should check their pulse. The album starts off with Perfect Opening Line which is indeed exactly that. The slow build up of tense Glen Hansard vocals and tight guitars growl into a chorus with cries of "You'll be walking out of here, Not caring anyway". The anger and emotion of Fitzcarraldo remain but their musical expertise is even more honed on this record.

But the album also shows a gentler side to the Frames and their lyric writing development. In Star Star we have one of the most beautiful songs that the band has ever written and you really do believe Glen when he pleads "Star, star teach me how to shine, shine, teach me so I know what's going on in your mind" with aching vocals filled with hope and despair at the same time. The album passes through many moments of emotion as glen compares his life to "being on a plateau" perhaps indicative of wanting to keep the enitity of the Frames in place yet develop the band's sound.

This album contains some of the band's finest songwriting moments and tracks like Plateau and Star Star are amongst the best that will be released this year. The Frames have always been the one band to give Irish music fans hope over the past few years. When the British rock critics have slated Ireland for being the land of pop, we were able to smugly laugh at them, as they had not yet discovered the true songwriting and musical talent of the frames. And they have missed out on so much. Every so often a short 80 word review may manage to squeeze itself into the reviews pages of the NME or the Melody maker, and it probably goes unread by the many who glance through the pages, but maybe that's OK because afterall "The stars are underground" and sometimes the trouble of discovering a new band makes the victory all that sweeter.

The album also shows where the influences have come from with the second single aptly named "Pavement Tune" and sounding a little like something that American rockers pavement might create themselves. The tense Hollocaine and anthemic Rent Day Blues add balance to the record, and make it a very accomplished and complete work. This could well turn out to be one of those albums that does not receive its just desserts until years later, when people will be citing it as the Irish album of the 1990's. This album is not just a record made by one of the few Irish bands to rise above the mediocre status, but rather it gives Irish people an identity to hang on to amongst the Welsh rise of the manics, stereophonics and SFA, The Scottish triumph of Travis and B&S, and the English triumph of Oasis and Radiohead, otherwise we might just get "lost in the mush". Perhaps the greatest triumph of the frames is that they have never stopped developing their sound, and still they are simple, honest songwriters. The Frames offer no gimmicks or special effects, just 100% of themselves for 50 minutes.

The album finishes with such an uplifting and optimistic track that you really wish the album hadn't ended quite so soon as Glen sings "And you can dance, dance the poison right out of your soul, and we can dance, dance the devil back into his hole,….".