(This feature originally ran in Ghettoblaster print, issue 38.  Issue 39 hits shelves very soon.)
Long recognized as a punk and hardcore mecca, a legacy strengthened by a yearly punk pilgrimage to the area (The Fest), Gainesville, Florida isn’t an unlikely locale for a post hardcore quintet like Frameworks. Being born and bred of that environment, and with the reputation of one’s stomping grounds on the line, delivering a record that is anything less than brightly evocative and breathtaking puts a band’s livelihood and future at stake.
Lucky for both the band and listeners, Loom is just the kind of spawling and gorgeous melodic post-hardcore record that nods to Gainesville’s legacy and establishes Frameworks as a band to watch.
“Growing up in Gainesville definitely set the standards for us,” Frameworks vocalist Luke Pate admitted.
Formed in Gainesville in 2011, Frameworks first gained notice with their early 2013 Small Victories on EP on 13th Floor Records.  A split release with Kittyhawk, Prawn and Droughts later that year drew more attention to the band who somehow manage to create music that exists where Explosions in the Sky and Fucked Up meet.
With the support of topdog label Topshelf Records, Frameworks visited Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Joyce Manor, Comarade) at his Atomic Garden Studios in San Francisco who convinced the band to track the record live during their week long session with him. They came prepared to follow Shirley’s lead and armed with a concept record that complemented “Preamble,” the track from the earlier split release.
“The song for the four way split and the LP were so close together and I had the concept in mind during both,” Pate confessed. “There was a month and a half between the split and Loom. It was interesting but we did it.”
The concept for Loom is largely about not connecting with most of the population of the world, an irony not lost on Pate as the band band’s profile and audiences grow.
“It is very strange. We began playing this material on the tour we did to get out to Jack Shirley and people seem to be really responding to it. It’s very encouraging, ” Pate shared. “I am also realizing that our connections with our first and earliest fans is stronger because they were there when nobody cared.
“I honestly never expected this kind of attention and didn’t expect that we’d get the support of an awesome label like Topshelf. When they offered us the full length I achieved everything I wanted to do with music and, at this point, everything else is a bonus.”
Although future musical goals may not be crystal clear, a conversation between Pate and Rescuer’s JP Marra gave the singer some insight about using the band’s profile for living in ways that most regular Joes aren’t privy to.
“I want to keep making interesting music that pushes the limits of what we’ve done before musically, but seeing the world is everything I started this band for. I was talking to JP and he said he wasn’t nearly as concerned with how the band’s sales were doing as using it as a vehicle to meet new people and see new places. That is the reason I like touring.”
(Listen to Loom here: http://topshelfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/loom.)