A Fine Frenzy – Bomb in a Birdcage August 28, 2009
	1. What I Wouldn’t Do 2. New Heights 3. Electric Twist 4. Blow Away 5. Happier 6. Swan Song 7. Elements 8. The World Without 9. Bird of the Summer 10. Stood Up 11. The Beacon

A Fine Frenzy, which many have mistaken for a solo act (even wiki has!), has come back once again for another album to follow up their very beautiful debut album back in 2007. If the cover is any indication, we’re probably in for a slightly more upbeat time because of the lack of landscape in the image; this concept was prominent in both covers of One Cell in the Sea. Oh, and that’s not a very flattering picture of Ms. Sudol. But yeah, even Sudol calls A Fine Frenzy a band, not a solo act contrary to wikipedia.

What I Wouldn’t Do introduces us to the familiar: a simple, acoustic track with the usual ambient sounds from the first album. The melody is simplistic, just like the acoustic accompaniment and Sudol’s lovely voice is charming and energetic. The song picks up after the first time around and adds in some clapping in the background. This addition makes the song a lot brighter rather than just mellow. It’s a cute little opening track which I really enjoy listening to. Sudol sounds beautiful as usual and the little arrangement is cute and soothing at the same time.

A Fine Frenzy continues with their atmospheric, ambient sounds with the next track, New Heights, which again could have been from their last album. The only thing different is the guy counting in the band at the beginning. However, as usual, their arrangements are lush and very dreamy. I love what they did with Sudol’s voice and kind of doubled it with the arrangement. The melody is actually quite simple again, but it’s a very soothing simple melody. Sudol’s voice works very well with the dreamy atmosphere of this track, and almost gets buried under all the piano, guitars and whatever other effects there are. As usual, a really beautiful work with the arrangement and Sudol’s singing fits the atmosphere of the track very well.

Electric Twist is our first introduction to the most upbeat side of A Fine Frenzy. The groove of this song is fun by the addictive bass line and percussion at the beginning. Sudol’s voice rings clear over these minimalistic accompaniments and she adds a lot of personality to her singing. Her singing as usual is lively. Eventually we get some more instruments that kind of creep into the track as the accompaniment becomes fuller. My favourite part is the section at around 2:30. I love the little thing she does with the word “Twist” as she accents it at a higher pitch. The rest of the song is a bit too linear for my liking at times as the chorus section isn’t quite as clearly put out to contrast the rest of the song (and the bridge ends up being the section that stands out in the song), but it’s a cute song which I enjoy.

Following is yet another upbeat song that was chosen as the lead single for this album. Blow Away relies strongly on a basic staccato beat to push the song forward, while the melody is really disjointed. In comparison, the legato melody of the chorus is really pretty although really quite short. The song itself is really “bouncy” to listen to, despite the accompaniment not having much other than the staccato beats and some small guitar lines in the background that are barely audible over the basic beat of the song.

This next track is one of my favourites off this track. Happier starts off with a beautiful introduction before transitioning to the slightly bouncy melody of the verse which goes in and out of legato and the more accented parts of the melody. The arrangement is more typical of the band with their ambient sounds in the background and a prominent piano presence. The melody is really pretty and probably one of the most memorable melody lines off this album that I remember off the first few listens of this album.

I’ve always really liked the opening for Swan Song. It’s a really beautiful piano opneing that sets the mood for this track perfectly. While the last track was a bit of a happy track, this is a soft, calming track with Sudol singing is hushed tones over soft, delicate sounds in the accompaniment. These are one of those songs that might bore a lot of people at the beginning because not a lot happens but I find it absolutely soothing. I really like the little bridge around 2:40 where Sudol sings out a lot more and her voice is exquisite and highly emotional as she reaches slightly higher notes.

A little bit of snare marches us into Elements, where Sudol’s voice whispers us into more dreamy pieces off this song. The snare is probably one of my favourite elements of this track as it adds a bit of a punch to this track, which like a lot of the band’s songs are just really pretty. While a lot of the previous tracks stayed in a certain little “cage” of dynamics, this particular piece has no limits as it gets progressively louder its accompaniment and the pure, raw emotion Sudol emits in her vocals. Seriously stunning.

We stray from the balladry to something more upbeat with The World Without. As usual, their arrangements are beautiful (what a surprise). I’m not too fond of the burst of sound that comes in and out of the verses at times, especially when it almost buries Sudol’s voice a bit too much, but it’s interesting to listen to, especially since it comes in right when everything accents the particular note of entry. Nice melody, nice vocals, and a bit too typical of A Fine Frenzy, but it’s a nice track.

It amuses me that Bird of the Summer begins with some little flute notes that sound like birds fluttering. Anyways, yes. Lovely piano opening and more soft Sudol singing. This particular arrangement is very spring and nature-like. The simple melody emphasizes the beautiful piano and flute arrangement in the background and I personally love it. The flute is especially fabulous and played very well to add to the atmosphere of the track. It has a beautiful tone through all the trills it’s playing in the background. Beautiful.

A Fine Frenzy attempts something a bit different at the beginning of Stood Up because the sound becomes a lot darker-sounding from the guitars and bass. At the same time, they keep the slightly dreamy feel in their music, especially with the effects put on Sudol’s voice. I’m particularly fascinated by some of the beats on this track, especially when there’s this one point of the melody where it seems like the rhythms are a bit off at first (this can be heard when Sudol first comes in with the melody) where the strong beat is put on a really unconventional place. The echoes at the end are a bit distracting, and I’m not too fond of that particular section of the song, but otherwise, it’s a strong track. This is probably one of the few times we hear Sudol belt for a section of the track, although she’s under a lot of effects.

It seems fitting to end an A Fine Frenzy album with a soft track. The Beacon is like the opening — simple, with a strong focus on Sudol’s emotive and strong vocals. I’m not particularly fond of the long notes in the accompaniment, but the melody has a lovely hook, which is true for many of AFF’s tracks. Not one of my favourites off the album as the accompaniment sounds rather bland under Sudol’s voice, though.

Bomb in a Birdcage is a more upbeat version of A Fine Frenzy’s debut album, One Cell in the Sea and features a very strong performance from their lead singer-songwriter (and only known member of the band), Alison Sudol. Her voice is beautiful and fits her music perfectly and generally has a more consistent performance on this album than she did in the first album. The music, as usual, is beautiful all the way through and is very enchanting to listen through all the way through. Sudol performance with ease all through the tracks, and it’s something very refreshing to hear. I’m not 100% fond of her more beat-oriented upbeat tracks as they feel a bit too linear at times, but they’re catchy enough for me to enjoy in any case and are unique enough that they stand out on the album. All in all, I loved this album. It features strong songwriting and strong singing from Sudol and is overall like walking through some kind of fairytale.

Favourites:
Elements