Liverpool’s THIS FINAL FRAME always seemed on the cusp of breaking out beyond local cult hero status during the 1980s. They bequeathed several great 45s - the ace, noir-infused ‘The Diary’, ‘Stories’ and ‘The Mask (Falls Away)’ – built up a decent local following and got plenty of positive press, yet somehow the dominoes never quite fell for them.
Posthumously, though, their reputation started spreading. During 2007, TFF main men, Paul Skillen and Carl Henry (also Half Man Half Biscuit) started an official band website and discovered to their immense surprise that they had a large following in the Philippines. It seems this unlikely turn of events had come about due to copies of the German-released ‘Stories’ 7” (available through the Intercord imprint) finding their way into the hands of a network of DJs and radio stations in Philippines capital, Manila, where it subsequently became fiercely popular.
Spurred on by this response and some low-key songwriting sessions over a relatively leisurely couple of years, Paul and Carl returned to action and finally released This Final Frame’s debut LP, ‘My Blue Heart’ (through Universal) late in 2009. The results were truly striking and the LP’s many highlights (‘Crashing Down’, ‘The Love That Lies’, ‘The Ways Of The World’) quickly demonstrated that TFF’S ability to craft moody, orchestral pop remained untainted by the ravages of time.
Yet, fine record though it was, ‘My Blue Heart’ is arguably bettered by TFF’s sophomore release, ‘Ten Portraits.’ The product of three further years of hard graft, it features strategic contributions from talented acolytes including keyboard player Sean Pugh (ex-A Flock of Seagulls), bassist Ian Jackson (Jeggsy Dodd) and guitarist Ken Hancock (Half Man Half Biscuit/ Jeggsy Dodd) but while its subject matter may again be dominated by the vicissitudes of life, it’s a much more confident and assured affair in the sonic sense and it’s afforded a much bigger production than its predecessor.
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Featuring an arresting Skillen vocal and a touch of windswept, Blue Nile-esque majesty, opener ‘When I Walk Alone’ sets the tone on an album soaked in love, loss and survival. Widescreen, string-kissed balladry (‘Attachments’, the Peter Hammill-quoting ‘I Have Seen You Before’) is frequently the order of the day from thereon in, though there’s room for some faster, poppier fare too. The punchy ‘Broken Strings’, for example, has plenty of swagger in its loins, while ‘Hannah’s Dream’ is every bit as upbeat as it is elegant.
Dips in quality are refreshingly absent throughout, though perhaps the most resonant track is the closing ‘Attrition’. A heartfelt ode to resolutely keep on keeping on allied to one of the band’s most finely-wrought arrangements to date, it’s arguably the most alluring of the series of mini-masterpieces that ‘Ten Portraits’ so proudly displays.
This Final Frame online
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