Layers and Frames is an act headed by Frederic Brewer, a French-American musician who served four years of Peace Corps duties in China’s Sichuan Province, where he released his debut album, Hubu.
After his time in the Orient, he knocked around Europe, sometimes performing, other times seeking inspiration in the mystical psychology of Jung, the dystopian prophecies of Huxley, or the “divine science” of Dr. Joseph Murphy.
In the wake of this highly cerebral quest, he began constructing the “layers and frames” of his second recording, an EP called Infinite Release.
The EP is quite psychedelic, perhaps more in the spiritual sense of the word than anything lysergic. That said, it wouldn’t exactly shock me if was I to learn that the “love drug” had been employed at some point.
The track “Crossing” begins with an incantation. The lyrics involve choices of an existential sort; “Crossing” is like a Far East version of Robert Frost’s classic poem “The Road Not Taken.”
A little more than five minutes in, the song changes quite drastically. There’s a dominant dance vibe, but traces of the mystical and old world remain.
The track “I Could Just Sit Here” has more of a rock n’ roll sound, though echoes of the experimental hover continuously. The lyrics are engaging. I get the feeling that the speaker is at his window, watching an apartment building across the way (perhaps even with binoculars!): “And my neighbors will never know / The day I got to stare back at them.”
Our speaker seems to have found a certain contentment, in his own detached but observant way.
“Lovely Seeds” begins with a rather gentle keyboard melody. A melodic tenderness persists throughout the song, no matter how experimental and distorted things may become.
The Layers and Frames site talks about celebrating the “power of the individual.” The track “Take Control” definitely involves that theme: “You got the power, and you got the right / To define the course of your life.”
The title track sure sounds conducive to quiet contemplation. I feel like a Buddhist monk!
Infinite Release seems like the creation of a wild (but peaceful) spirit.
Obtain your own release at: http://layersandframes.bandcamp.com/album/infinite-release
Seeking a video conduit? Here’s a pair.
1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Smp3_JVH8ZY
2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SIoSoQD3CXk
http://www.layersandframes.com/
Ray Cavanaugh – owleyesgatsby@yahoo.com
