Frame and Canvas

''Frame & Canvas'' is the third studio album by American rock band Braid. It was released on April 7, 1998, through Polyvinyl Record Co. After the release of the band's second studio album, '' The Age of Octeen'' (1996), drummer Damon Atkinson replaced Roy Ewing due to him being unable to commit to touring. Recording sessions took place at Inner Ear Studios in December 1997, with J. Robbins helping with production during the sessions. The album is an emo and post-hardcore release, for which the lyrics were co-written by vocalist/guitarists Chris Broach and Bob Nanna, or solely wrote by Nanna.

Preceded by a European tour with the Get Up Kids, ''Frame & Canvas'' was promoted by Braid with tours across the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan with Compound Red, Discount, and Burning Airlines. It had sold over 16,000 copies by July 2004. The album has appeared on best-of lists for the emo genre by multiple publications, such as ''Kerrang!'', ''NME'', and ''Rolling Stone''. Braid performed the album in its entirety during a 2012 US tour.

Background and production

Following the release of their second studio album '' The Age of Octeen'' in 1996, Braid played shows in Illinois, Wisconsin, and Missouri in September and October. Between November 1996 and January 1997, the band toured the south and west coasts of the United States. Following a handful of shows in February 1997, drummer Roy Ewing left Braid the following month. He was replaced by Damon Atkinson of Figurehead; Atkinson had previously filled in for Ewing when he was unable to book time off work for a tour. Atkinson had been a fan of the band and Ewing's drumming; when he came to practice, they felt he was the perfect replacement. Vocalist/guitarist Bob Nanna said Atkinson hit his kit harder than Ewing, who had a lighter, jazzy approach. Braid continued to tour throughout 1997; playing with the Get Up Kids, Tomorrow, and Compound Red, among others.

During this time, the band wrote material for their next album while attending college; vocalist/guitarist Chris Broach dropped out as they were becoming more active. The members were spread across different towns and states: Atkinson in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Nanna in Chicago, Illinois; and Broach and bassist Todd bell in Champaign, Illinois. Nanna and Bell ran their own label Grand Theft Autumn Records, who had released a split single with independent label Polyvinyl Record Co. The members used to skateboard with Polyvinyl's co-founder Matt Lunsford before they became a band; he and fellow co-founder Darcie Knight organized the band's first-ever show in 1993. Braid were not contractually signed to Mud Records, who released ''The Age of Octeen'', as the label typically worked with local bands from a college town. The band wanted to work with another company, and sent out items to the likes of Touch and Go Records and Merge Records; they attempted to contact Jade Tree, who would not respond to them.

The tracks "First Day Back" and "Hugs from Boys" were recorded in August 1997. Following on from this, Braid traveled across the US with Rainer Maria in October of that year. To coincide with the tour, they released the two songs on a 7" vinyl, through Polyvinyl Record Co. The day Nanna graduated from college, Braid traveled to Washington, D.C., to record their next album. ''Frame & Canvas'' was recorded in December 1997 at Inner Ear Studios in Arlington County, Virginia, with J. Robbins and the band acting as producers. Braid had met Robbins twice before working on the album with him. They approached him because of his work on albums by the Promise Ring and Kerosene 454. Robbins served as the engineer for ''Frame & Canvas'' and also mixed the recordings. The recording and mixing process lasted six days, and each recording day lasted 13 hours.

Composition and lyrics

Musically, the sound of ''Frame & Canvas'' has been described as emo and post-hardcore, landing between the late 1990s Midwest emo and D.C. post-hardcore acts, such as Fugazi and Jawbox, the latter of which Robbins was a member of. All of the music was written by Braid; Nanna wrote lyrics for seven of the tracks, and co-wrote the other five with Broach. Broach came up with the title of ''Frame & Canvas'', which is taken from "Killing a Camera". Nanna said the title referred to "some kind of art school thing". Broach has a bigger vocal role on the album than the band's previous releases; he explained this was because he was "sick of being pushed down in the mix". The opening track, "The New Nathan Detroits", begins with a math rock drum introduction by Atkinson. The song features Broach and Nanna discussing job prospects with their parents. "Never Will Come for Us" includes references to Braid being an underground act that did not get airplay, and playing shows at friends' house parties. "First Day Back" was written after arriving home from their late 1996/early 1997 tour, and is about settling in after being gone for a while. "Collect from Clark Kent" is an atypical Midwest emo track, which talks about breakdowns in communication and long-distance issues, with Nanna singing to a woman similar to the Superman character Lois Lane.

"Milwaukee Sky Rocket" was initially titled "Sky Rocket", until Atkinson—who was from Milwaukee—joined the band. They were working on the dance-indebted "A Dozen Roses" in Nanna's parents' basement when Atkinson began playing what he called "this cool beat". Nanna stated that "immediately once he started playing", he thought: "This is different." Robbins added tambourine to the track. Discussing "Urbana's Too Dark", Borach said Urbana, Illinois, was where the members lived alongside "the art kids and music kids. The frats were in Champaign and the old guard", such as Hum and Poster Children

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