Framing Skeletons – Luminescence

Framing Skeletons from Houston, Texas, have produced an album each year since their inception less than three years ago. “Luminescence” is their third and latest release and is paired with its predecessor, Osmium (2020). The album covers are similar, and the pairing is deliberate to show a sense of balance. These non-identical twins make the comparison between light and dark, or hard and soft, with the newest release representing the lighter and softer side of the band.

Guitarist Jeremy Burke and Drummer Bryan Holub, both veterans of the Houston rock and metal scene, inevitably met up and discovered that they were musical soul mates. They set about writing in a variety of styles which has now resulted in three completely different sounding albums. To quote the band “If Framing Skeletons isn’t making music that moves you at the moment, just wait, and the band will soon release something more to your fancy”. They took this from an old adage “If you don’t like the weather in Houston, just wait five minutes”. Let’s face it, at their current output rate, you could have less than a year to wait.

In early February 2021, the duo announced that they had become a trio, with Bassist Ethan Berry completing the line-up. As far as I can tell he didn’t have any involvement with “Luminescence”, at least I’ve found nothing that suggests he did.

The band only got to play one gig before the pandemic curtailed things. That didn’t deter them though and this, their most melodic and chilled album to date, is the proof of that determination. This is something we have seen from many bands around the world. The least we can do is show our gratitude by supporting acts like these.

So, here we have seven songs that will provide a relaxing 39 minutes. Tracks 2,3,6 and 7 have prefixes of I, II, III and IV, which would suggest that they go together in some way. At the time of writing this, the album doesn’t appear to be available on Bandcamp and I don’t have sight of the lyrics, which might offer an insight into this conundrum. As it is, I can only speculate on the connection, if indeed, there is one. Which, of course, may not be the case at all.

Easing us into the album ‘Change the Channel’ has keyboards, percussion, and clean emotional vocals. The title perhaps announcing the change in style. The album’s longest and most varied track is ‘II. The Progression’, where vocal harmonies are abundant throughout, drifting along over complex drum patterns. Although the album seldom gets out of second gear, each song is different and far from pedestrian. ‘Your Vessel’ is heavier, with the band showing their more energetic edge. ‘IV. Rising Dragon’ is a strong finisher, with some solid riffs and powerful vocals.

These Texan fellas seem to be able to turn their hands to almost anything. It begs the question where do they go next? Hopefully, with vaccines giving us all light at the end of the tunnel, they will be going back to the live scene and studio. If they are going to keep up their track record, they have 12 months to produce the next album. Let’s see what style it will be.

Tracklist:

1. Change the Channel
2. The Pariah
3. The Progression
4. Flight in the Failing Knot
5. Your Vessel
6. The Passing
7. Rising Dragon