Frances The Mute is a classic, to say the least, and is a perfect example of a band shooting their musical abilities into overdrive. Equal parts beauty and equal parts chaos, this record is utterly brilliant and a band at their apex.
This album is much like their debut, De-Loused in The Comatorium, but incorporates more genres and unique twists and turns. One of the greatest things about about "Frances the Mute" is the atmosphere itself, which is paranoid-inducing and haunting - however, strangely comes off as beautiful and majestic. A lot of ambient backdrops and other weird, supersonic sound effects are used prominently on this record, which explains the claustrophobic nature of the sound.
Cedric's lyrics are intensely personal with this, and aren't entirely nonsensical as seen on DLITC; the battlecry of "I count the days to find... what was left behind" as seen on "Cygnus..Vismund Cygnus" along with the lucid "..And I'll never... sleep alone" as seen on "The Widow" are great examples of a man stepping outside the box lyrically, and delivering something more than just downright gibberish.
These guys mean serious business when writing a track, and that is heavily reflected on "Frances the Mute"; their stuff is far from accessible, and because of their insanely complex song arrangements and eccentric melodies, this album is draining, and something that requires to be fully attentive and alert through all of it. Every band member here, in some way or form, plays at an extreme, highly technical level without any duds, which, for me at least, is seriously incredible. Because of this, the music comes off like an explosive barrel or a bundle of machine guns spraying wildly in the air. There's a lot of excitement with this music; one moment their might be a soft, humble melody, then the next moment you are bulldozed with chaotic, blistering instrumentation.
Technically, there are only 5 songs here, 3 of which are split up into individual "stanzas" or "parts", which I'm guessing was because to actually let the listener divulge rather than have to listen to the entire track without splitting it up. The other two were crafted as singles, one being the "The Widow" along with "L'via L'Viaquez".
"The Widow" was the first single released on this album, and the moment I heard it, I thought it was the weirdest *** ever (check out the music video... which is insanely weird by the way). Cedric's unconventional and chirpy, hyper voice seemed to put off; I was actually surprised how the song managed to show up on MTV at the time, given the fact this band WAS a progressive rock band and not some pop rock duet. But after a few listens, I found myself humming to the woozy guitar melody and the desperate sounding chorus of "Freeze without an answer, free from all the shame.. Must I hide? Cause I'll never.....never sleep alone" over and over again until it became implanted in my brain. From that very second, I knew this record would be phenomenal. So, for me being only 10 at the time, my Dad and I went to snatch at my local record shop, and when I got home, I was floored by the music to say the least.
This monster begins with fluttery, almost Hispanic sounding guitar melodies, and then explodes like a rocket launching into space, with frantic musicianship and leads into a verse/chorus setup. Soon thereafter, the song simmers down for a bit with a sublime bridge eventually picks back up again with some tragically beautiful lyrics delivered by Cedric: " I count the days to find.. what was left behind", then eventually transcends into the chorus, then fades out with creepy ambiance and a pulsating bass line, almost reminiscent of someones heart beat. The perfect opener.
You are then met with the friendly radio single of "The Widow", which has a dazzling, smoky atmosphere to it, making it a little more accessible compared to the rest of the album. It's a straight up pop song, with a verse/chorus/bridge, followed by some looped static noise at the end. A great song overall.
"L'via L'Viaquez" follows up, and wow, what a track! Done both in Spanish and English, this track is a full-fledged rocker with a sexy Latino influences attached to it. The chorus has a danceable, flattering Latino section to it and a variety of other little melodies thrown in here and there. One of my favorites.
"Miranda That Ghost Just Isn't Holy Anymore" is probably the best example of the band at their most lucid state, given the fact that this song is considerably more humble, mellow, and smooth as compared to the rest of the album. It's also, in my opinion, the scariest, given the fact it's simply so dreamy and has a dense, pulse-ridden atmosphere attached to it. The song begins with the sounds of birds chirping, then eventually forms into nightmarish sounding ambiance, leading into the first verse. The drums are actually, for the most part, absent on this song with the exception of the last chorus. The song has the most prominent jazz/ambient feel attached to it, with its tragic-sounding horns and spiraling ambiance. An amazing downtime song.
'Cassandra Gemini' is an apocalyptic beast of a song; it's an album in itself, and demonstrates the band literally going balls out with every department of music. I could talk about this one song for days, but for the sake of this review, I'll keep it relatively short.
So in essence, this song is 32 minutes, and is split up into various stanzas containing different parts. Immediately you are bombarded with hyperactive musicianship and Cedric's groaning lyrics of "I think I've... become one of the others" to start off the first stanza. By now, you should already tell that you're in for not just a song, but for a journey.
To start off the second stanza, you are encountered with an earth-shattering guitar solo followed by adrenaline pumping musicianship. Cedric almost sounds angry in this one too, which makes it a hell of a lot more suspenseful and dark. The song then slowly begins to break down with a heartfelt, bittersweet sounding guitar melody with another guitar solo overlapping it. This continues on for a few minutes, then the track actually breaks down ENTIRELY with a spooky piano riff and Cedric's droning voice of " 25 wives in the lake tonight."
Following this stanza, the next stanza is amazingly gorgeous. You are immediately stormed with a totally badass, violent, almost Western sounding druggy guitar riff. The song eagerly picks up the pace, gradually converting over into the 4th stanza. The 4th stanza is probably the most beautiful thing on this album. The guitar melody is so sparkly and perky, it's almost like seeing a ray of hope past your eyeballs. The fifth stanza has a nice droning bass riff and murky ambiance with it, another highlight of this song. Descending further, the track begins to gradually pick up pace and then later lashes out with a noisy jazz solo, very intense. The song then reverts back to the chorus, and the song ends.
So really, this album changed my life, and I will always consider it to be their best effort, next to De-Loused. There's just so much majesty and warmth on this record, and while it might not seem like it, it's more for interpretation and how you listen to it as a whole. I'm not trying to be pretentious, I'm just saying that it might take a few listens to get fully acquainted to it, as it IS a difficult album (band in general though, for that matter). I wholeheartedly recommend you listen to it, as it displays music at its most unreal level.
