Kevin Hearn
Days in Frames
Reviewed by: Brian Roser
This album is melancholy in theme, but beautiful in its execution. There are songs of lost love and lost innocence. It is piano heavy, but then Kevin Hearn is the keyboardist for Barenaked Ladies, so it’s no wonder he is playing to his strengths. This is not to say that the music is monotonous, he does weave in brass, guitar and strings as well, giving it a well rounded sound. In addition to Barenaked Ladies, he has also played with Look People, Rheostatics, The Cousins with his actual cousin, Harland Williams and under his own name with Kevin Hearn & Thin Buckle. In his spare time, he beats cancer.
One of the things that I love about Days in Frames is that every now and again some completely random lyrics will come through, just to see if you’re paying attention. In “Floating” for example, after images of an uncomfortable hospitalization, he sings: “I reached for my dick it wasn’t there / it’s vanished into the thin air” … wait, what? No, that was definitely what he said. Then there is a pleasant little song about a man’s morning routine where he eats his eggs and goes to work where his lungs are destroyed while the mayor is smoking crack. I wasn’t expecting that one either.
Days in Frames is not for all occasions. It is a bit sorrowful for everyday consumption. It does, however, have its place. When you feel sad and lost with more questions than answers and not in an angsty Nine Inch Nails kinda way and you’re sick of hearing “Comfortably Numb” on repeat, then the rating for this album goes up to bad-ass.
Rating: Listenable
