Album Review: Do You Feel Guilty Being Ok? by Framing Hanley
Album artwork for “do you feel guilty being ok?” by Framing Hanley
It’s been just over 5 years of wondering whether one of the biggest names in emo music would ever again make music for the kids who used to rock a side fringe and checkerboard wrist sweatbands. Wondering if we’d ever relive that nostalgic era of late 00s post-grunge/emo bands showing up on the front of Kerrang! Magazine, but in a modern setting. Framing Hanley weren’t a small, underground band by any means. Everyone and their Aunt has heard that bands’ name at least once in their lifetime. Their debut album, “The Moment” still remains to be one of the most well-loved emo records of its time, helped by the success of their cover of Lil Wayne’s, Lollipop (which did absolute numbers on Myspace).
After their debut, came their sophomore release in 2010, “A Promise To Burn”, and following that, “The Sum of Who We Are” dropped in 2014. It was a generational 3 album run for the band, cementing themselves as a household name with fans across the world. They excelled in pulling influence from huge bands such as 30 Seconds To Mars and 3 Doors Down, yet never once did they sacrifice what prevented them from being just another copycat band. Framing Hanley sounded like Framing Hanley, and you knew when you were listening to a track by them before you even saw the title. That’s what made them special.
Now, if you’re expecting 2007 Framing Hanley, there’s a chance you’ll be disappointed. That’s not to say that flair and rough edge they had back then has been burned to ashes, it’s still there, just with a modern coat on. One thing they have always got right on the nose are emotionally charged and catchy choruses, and that’s exactly what Gimme Gimme stands proud for. This opening track is a perfect blend of 2010 and 2014 Framing Hanley, with vocal lines orchestrated to be belted out the windows of your car, and tasteful use of synths. It’s nothing we haven’t heard from the band before, just now it’s been polished into a fine art to find its place in the modern scene.
Whether they intended to pull in a new audience with “do you feel guilty being ok?” or not, they’re definitely going to, and that’s not an inherently negative thing. The second those wee woos (pick scrapes if you really must be technical) in The Reckoning hit, it was an instant mark on this record, solidifying that it was going to be something to keep an eye on as a meaningful return. The Reckoning is the leading parts of the bands’ roots, enhanced by modern touch without drawing from its original character. Times have changed in many genre spaces, and sometimes bands must adapt slightly to plant their feet into new territory. Framing Hanley have done this with such charm, bringing their 00s sound and decorating it with unpretentious quirks from modern metalcore has allowed them to honour where they started while taking pride in where they stand now. There’s no lack of staple emo elements, and this is profoundly backed by Nixon’s voice sounding like he hasn’t aged at all. A voice that was and still is so distinctively impelling, it helps to hold onto the nostalgia that comes from simply hearing the name, Framing Hanley. Backed fiercely by harsh vocals that transport you back over a decade, the band have proved they’ve not completely abandoned what made them exciting.
If you’re going to mention a previous successful song in parentheses against a new creation and call it a part 2, then it better live up to the name you’re reaching for. Many will remember Photographs and Gasoline, from “A Promise To Burn,” the longest and most impactful song from that record, where we truly heard the heights that Framing Hanley could reach. Musically, vocally, and lyrically, it felt like diving into the deepest part of the band, seeing them without bright colours or flair, and instead witnessing their cracked edges and open chest. Mean It (Photographs and Gasoline, Pt. 2) feels like the confident older brother of the aforementioned, with a similar vocal cadence and “bare all” attitude intertwined with the lyrics. It offers a flash of familiarity which in turn grants a comfortable space for long-time fans to settle into, knowing that this track sounds like it was pulled right out of 2010.
Where Framing Hanley have always stood taller than the rest, is when they strip it right back to the bare bones, ditch the enhancements, samples, and quirks, and leave you blissfully floating in a soundscape of just acoustic guitar and veracious vocals. The Ever-Afters is a reminder of the raw, emotional capability that the band have possessed since their inception. Don’t be surprised if you’re covered in goosebumps from head-to-toe when this comes on, because not only do you have pleading vocals from Nixon delivering somber lyrics, accompanied with the sorrowful acoustic guitar, both engaging in a tear up of emotions, there’s the added delicacy of an orchestra drifting beneath it all. Something as simple as the composition on The Ever-Afters can hold so much weight when done correctly, and if the bodily response is anything to go by, the mark wasn’t missed. Not even slightly.
“do you feel guilty being ok?” isn’t a perfect record by any means. There are parts throughout this record where, if you’re familiar with the band, you’ll be perplexed at how different they have morphed their sound. Moments will come and go where the addition of vocal effects hinders the fluidity rather than subtly respects it, or the instrumentals plateau and become a distant relative four times removed of the foundational grit that paved the bands come up. When you take into account how long Framing Hanley have been together, it’s not far fetched to have some sort of expectation that their sound will have evolved in ways that will not be favoured by all fans, and at times will seem as though they now take prevalence in catering to a new audience. This record needs to be listened to in full, front to back, multiple times before it’s seen and understood beyond the surface, only then will you notice the 00s emo kids are standing right there in front of you.
When stepping back into a scene you’ve been detached from for a number of years, you can do the same shit you did over a decade ago, or you can build upon that to excel beyond the niche circle you began in, and Framing Hanley have succeeded in the latter. “do you feel guilty being ok?” doesn’t conform with endless gimmicks and a complete change in character, instead it colours the foundation of previous greatness with strokes of a modern paintbrush, resulting in a record that’s relevant and endearing while still being rightfully suited to the name that kickstarted the excitement. This is an album that long-time fans will hold close to their chest out of adoration for a childhood band, but it will also open the eyes and ears of a new wave of listeners to recognise what we deemed as one of the best all along.
FFO: Bad Omens, Wage War, Beartooth
SCORE: 8/10
Do You Feel Guilty Being Ok? released on all streaming platforms on Friday 31st July, via Broox Records.
