A Cathartic Release

The paternal leave is a welcome break for MacConlomaire before the Frames’ new album, “Burn the Maps,” hits stores in the U.S. on Tuesday. The album, which has been out in Ireland for months, has left the Dublin band awash in praise from the Irish press, and if advance reviews from America are any indication, they will be greeted with similar accolades here.
But speaking with the Echo via phone from his new home in Wexford, MacConlomaire is wistful about where he has been able hang his hat recently.
“Burn the Maps” was pieced together during studio sessions in Ireland, France and Chicago, the last of which, MacConlomaire said, is a second home to the band while in the U.S. Indeed, with friends and family there, the Frames, who, in addition to MacConlomaire, comprise Rob Bochnik, Glen Hansard and Joe Doyle, are well acquainted with the Windy City, playing and staying there whenever possible.
Aside from having a manager based in town, there was another reason why the city made sense for the Frames — producer Steve Albini works out of the area, giving the Frames access to one of the best in the business.
When it was time for Albini to work on the engineering of “Burn the Maps,” there were a total of 25 songs, which by the last session had been pared to 10.
“Usually, the songs that don’t make it have a stigma about them,” said MacConlomaire, who adds that they will probably turn up on the next album. “We’ve been able to reconcile that process.”
Personnel have been an integral part of the Frames’ success so far. MacConlomaire said it has helped to keep a steady roster of the same people with similar musical ideals to ensure that the music they make it a product they stand behind.
“We’re at the sharp end of that process,” he said. “We’re acutely aware of what not to do.”
His own recording process is one he has recently worked on with his bandmates. While trying to do the string arrangements, he would sneak off with a computer and work away, “unbeknownst to the lads,” he said, laughing.
While the violin has a featured spot on most Frames songs, MacConlomaire is careful not to overdo it.
“It is easy to be twee with the violin,” he said. “It is a fine line to walk.”
Though not many bands are able to use it as a full-time instrument, critics and fans alike fawn over his prowess with the violin, and make note of how integral it becomes to the sound of the band as a whole.
The power of the violin first clicked in his head thanks to Scarlet Rivera, a player on Bob Dylan’s “Desire” album and most notably the song “Hurricane.” MacConlomaire was changed the first time he heard Rivera on the album.
“It terms of coming to a signpost, it was Scarlet Rivera,” he said. “I was transfixed.”
Coming from a musical family didn’t hurt, either. MacConlomaire’s mother and grandmother played, along with his brothers and sisters.
A group dynamic also came into play when recording “Burn the Maps,” one MacConlomaire says was “a lot more band-based” that previous outings.
“This was very from the roots up” he said.
The result is a bare, moody work, contained within the 10 songs, and still bursting at the seams.
Some critics have already cited the melancholy feel, and when questioned what was behind the mood, MacConlomaire is philosophical.
“It’s hard to look back at where you were at mentally when writing and recording, then playing it in the present,” he said. “But you can catch glimpses of where things came from.
“I think we’re speaking of things that need to be spoken about. So much of the medium is so pop-driven. It’s all very, ‘take your Prozac and smile.’ “
MacConlomaire has embraced his recent respite, he said, taking the opportunity to delve anew into the rather heavy offerings on “Burn the Map.” He realized that dealing with unpleasant topics, as the songs on the album do, and trusting one’s feelings is sometimes a good thing.
“There is a real level of catharsis about it,” he said.
The Frames’ next record, already in the planning stages, “will end up being much more joyful,” MacConlomaire said. “But to get to that, we had to make this music.”
The freedom to make the music the foursome heard was due in no small part to their status as a premier rock outfit, and hopes are high for their slow burn in the U.S. to pick up.
“It was a slow natural unfolding of much performing, among other things,” MacConlomaire said of their status. “We’re not a very fashionable or hip band. But we have a very good relationship with the audience and with the fans.”
Their star has risen considerably thanks to word-of-mouth and the outlet the Internet has provided.
With word spilling over into the U.S., it ensured that their last full tour here, with Damien Rice, filled large concert halls.
MacConlomaire said it took Irish media a little convincing to get on board.
“Our concept of success is day-to-day living,” he said. “To move a million records, that’s brilliant, but at the same time, so is moving a couple thousand. “We’re at a very interesting place. We operate on a practical level. . . . We don’t pitch everything on cracking a chart.”
Their new label, Anti, a small imprint of the Epitaph record label, offered the Frames creative freedom as well as worldwide distribution, something they had been aiming for.
“They’re very likeminded,” MacConlomaire said. “It’s a great feeling.”
While on dad duty, MacConlomaire will be watching his own children’s development. Could there be, perhaps, a future violin virtuoso?
“Kids are sponges,” he said, explaining how there is always an element of father-like-son growing up. “Music is and always will be available to them.”