Making remarkable waves in the Pittsburgh music scene with a blend of both post-rock and post-emo sounds, Frame and Mantle have hit their mark when it comes to building real-life inspiration, or any form of creative fuel, into thought-provoking lyricism and immersive musical textures. The band marks another chapter in their musical journey with their latest album release, "Well of Light," which hones in on their signature sound while also enhancing maturity and depth. The talent behind the band consists of Connor Freer (vocals/guitars/trumpet), Brian Thompson (guitars), Mark Thompson (drums), and Brian Duncan (bass). I recently had the chance to talk with Connor Freer and Brian Thompson about their inspirations for the album, their creative process, and what they've learned about themselves through their journey.
MSM: For those who may be discovering Frame and Mantle for the first time, how would you describe your sound, and what would you like to bring to the music scene?
Brian: I guess in terms of describing our sound, generally it's probably emo meets indie rock meets post-rock. In terms of what we would want to bring to the music scene, I guess just heartfelt music that people might connect with. What would you say?
Connor: I think with the trumpet, it's a little different than usual, and I feel like a lot of our songs are less than traditional, like structure-wise.
Brian: Yeah, not your typical chorus stuff. Just experimenting with song structures and things like that.
MSM: How would you say your local scene or community has influenced your growth as a band?
Connor: We're definitely surrounded by a lot of really talented musicians and bands, so it just lifts us up each time.
Brian: Yeah, Pittsburgh has a really tight music scene. It seems like everybody knows everybody and wants to support each other, especially within the emo and indie world. There's a lot of creativity, and it always seems like there's something exciting happening, like every week and every month. There's always a new release from a band that's super catchy and super exciting just in general. So, yeah, we love being a part of the music scene here.
MSM: For your most recent singles, "Standstill" and "Down a Thousand," is there anything that you're especially proud of or think fans should listen for?
Connor: I think at least for "Down a Thousand," it's a little bit different in terms of the vibe that we went with. For "Standstill," that's the mile song.
Brian: Yeah, that one was written when our drummer just had a son; he's about a year and a half now, so it was kind of written about that experience. The day that I learned he was going to be born, I sat down and wrote the structure of the song and then told Connor about that story, and Connor wrote some really great lyrics reflecting on being a parent.
Connor: Yeah, definitely different from our usual song topics.
Brian: I guess with "Down a Thousand," I'll add that was one of our hardest-hitting songs. Usually we're doing a lot more loud, soft dynamic stuff, but that one is just pedal to the metal if there was such a thing for us. So we're excited about the reception of that one. People seem to be really liking how that one sounds and stuff.
MSM: When it comes to writing, do you usually follow a set process, or does it tend to shift depending on the song or where you're at creatively?
Connor: There's definitely more movement sometimes.
Brian: We try to think about what best serves the song, and it's not always just a first chorus thing. Sometimes there will be a first half of the song and a second half of the song, and we either build from there. How we want to build the song and layer stuff has always been a big part of my songwriting. How to layer different parts and how to make them come together—crescendos are big, and things like that. Just thinking about some of the bands that influenced me from a songwriting perspective. Definitely stuff like explosions from the sky, just those big, repetitive, building sort of things, takes a lot of cues from that type of songwriting.
MSM: Were there any particular moments, stories, or emotions that sparked the initial idea for your latest album, "Well of Light," and set the tone for each song?
Brian: I'll let you answer that first. I'm curious to see what he has to say.
Connor: It's weird because I don't know that there's any one thing in particular. For me, at least for some of the songs, I took an approach of deciding to write about just stuff that I found interesting. A couple of the songs are related to an anime or a video game that I like, or just reference it. I've always been a little weirdly embarrassed to do that in the past; now I was like, "Why not?" Just throw it out there and see if it sticks.
Brian: Yeah, I guess to add to that. Sort of thinking about the overarching from album to album. I think compared to the last album, I look at that one, and there were more feelings of hope, but that was mixed with feelings of maybe uncertainty, but still finding a way to have a hopeful, optimistic outlook. I think for this one, more of the overarching idea was that it was a lot more pessimistic, but at the same time it still has that same hopeful, optimistic tinge to it. There are different emotions in each song. I think the instrumentals may reflect a bit more of a darker tone.
Connor: Yeah, especially the intro and outro tracks, or the first and last ones, definitely have a darker vibe to them.
MSM: How would you describe the sonic direction for this project compared to your past releases? Are you exploring any new styles or sounds?
Brian: I think in terms of describing the sonic palette of this one, definitely on previous releases we were mixing a lot more clean tones in, but this one was a lot more riff-based. So we were using a lot more overdrive and distortion. We were also thinking about maybe mixing that in with other different effects, like chorus pedals or things like that, so it's not just clean guitar or dirty guitar. We tried to mix some more effects in there.
Connor: I think the way that the song structures are in this one kind of goes along with that. It's definitely different from the previous album.
MSM: Are there any recurring themes or core messages that show up across the album? If so, how did that play a part in the creative process?
Brian: I think there might be some. Just from my standpoint of listening to some of the stuff that you've written, I guess maybe it's themes of not feeling sure about certain things, maybe in terms of your relationships or the world. When we were working on writing the lyrics, Connor and I would come together and kind of just talk about what each song made us think about. Some of the things that were coming up were things like maybe feeling stuck or feeling more vulnerable and open. Also wanting to share more about yourself but not knowing how to or being kind of afraid to. Just sort of things that kind of come up here and there in different moments on the album.
MSM: What can fans and listeners look forward to next following your album release? Anything in particular you're excited about for this upcoming year?
Brian: Yeah, hopefully we'll be trying to hit the road later in the year and do some dates in the Midwest and Northeast of the US. I'm excited to get back into writing. It's been a busy few months for me, and I haven't had much time to just sit and write, so I'm excited to get back to doing that a little bit.
Connor: I mean, in the short term, we have the week after our album actually comes out, which is our release show at Bottle Rocket.
Brian: In Pittsburgh. It's a pretty cool bar. They do a lot of different comedy-sort-of stuff and music stuff too. It's definitely one of my favorite spots in town. We're excited to be playing there. We have a few great locals on the lineup too, so it's going to be fun.
MSM: What's something you've learned about yourselves—individually and collectively—through making music, and do you have a special message for fans or anyone who has been following along?
Connor: I would say one thing that I learned for myself, and then I would again reflect back to listeners and fans, is don't doubt yourself and just do it. Just put the thing out there and try something.
Brian: Especially throughout the years when I think about previous projects that I worked on with this band. I feel like I have to overwork something sometimes, but for this one I really tried to not overwork, and I just tried to let things organically happen and not really question them too much. I'm pleasantly surprised with the results of that. I'm really happy with how this album turned out. I feel a lot more confident too. In the past, especially in recording settings, I was always doubting, like Connor said, a lot of different moves I would make or we would make as a band. I think with this one, it just felt like everything came together really naturally, and I'm super proud of that. This will also be our eleventh year as a band, which is crazy, and if for some reason you knew of us ten years ago when we were first starting out and are listening to this album, like, thank you so much! That's amazing, and thank you for sticking with us. I hope that you have seen a lot of growth in us. Just thinking about how we used to be based in Erie, Pennsylvania, and that was also a very tight-knit, dynamic scene with a lot of diversity and sounds, stuff like that. So, to come from a place like that to where we are now is humbling for sure. Yeah, again, thanks for being along for the ride with us.
