“At the risk of sounding horribly pretentious, the title A Framed Life In Charming Light is kind of a metaphor for how we promote a better version of ourselves to each other. This alternate version hides how we actually feel about ourselves deep down inside,” cheekily explains JAMIE WOOLFORD, frontman of such influential bands as Animal Chin, The Stereo and Let Go about his debut solo album (Release date: January 15, 2013; Get Well Records). While bit heavy on the meaning behind the title, the music on A Framed Life in Charming Light fluctuates in weight from rock to pop to ballads to alt-punk, all without losing its cohesiveness or its focus on Jamie’s songwriting.
Known for crafting such indelibly-infectious songs as “New Tokyo Is Calling”, “Ramona” and “Don’t Say Uncle”, Woolford’s new material hearkens his trademark uber-melodicism that’s influenced countless alternative bands including Fall Out Boy, fun., and Cobra Starship to name just a few. The ebb and flow of the opening track,“Safe, Warm & Boring” kicks off the record with a waltzy backdrop, highlighting his velvety vocals amidst a piano-led melody. “[This song] sort of ‘leaks’ my love affair with softer music,” he explains. “My fans will hopefully be surprised to hear something this ‘classical’ from me, which is exciting.” From the chugging breakneck alt-pop of “No Contact” to the metallic guitar attack of“Rock Beats Money” to the harmonic balladry of “Gravity”, A Framed Life in Charming Light captures all his diverse strengths and packages them into a cohesive and tight album that is at once comfortable and familiar while expansive and challenging.“’Short Term Memory’ which closes the record, is one of the most poetic and artistic songs I've written to date,” Jamie says. “I love it for that and other reasons but in the end, people are going to like what they hear or not. My only role as an artist to honestly express myself and be as good at it as I can. Once it makes it into the hands of the listener it becomes something else entirely.”
Alternative Press has premiered “The Miracle Mile” which can be heard here:
Aside from being a master musical craftsman, Jamie has his humanitarianism in check as well - a portion of the proceeds made from this album will be donated to a very important cause that he supports. “The Polaris Project is a wonderful organization aimed at ending human trafficking,” he continues. “It's such an enormous problem worldwide that we HAVE to do something about. I'm no politician or preacher but I think that, in my own small way, if I can help bring a little more awareness to this problem then I have to.”
“The challenge is being able to truly recognize what you have and what you're making in the moment as it's happening, Jamie concludes about this record. “That's not hard for a good producer but in almost every case, the artist is actually the MOST blind to their material and its potential. So when you choose to be artist, engineer, and producer all at once, it really becomes a challenge to keep all those roles in perspective and perform them well. I'll be honest, this is the most ambitious record I've ever made both in a musical and technical sense. Someone please remind how difficult this was next time, ok?”
A Framed Life in Charming Light will be released on January 15, 2013 on Get Well Records. It was written, performed, produced, engineered and mixed by Jamie Woolford.
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