Album Review: Framing Hanley – Envy

Best known for their internet-breaking cover of Lil Wayne’s Lollipop way back in 2007, Nashville emo quintet Framing Hanley have returned from a five-year hiatus with their fourth album, Envy.

After such a long time away, some of the rust still needs to be shined off the studded belt – this is an album that sounds like it could have been found on any emo’s record shelves in the late 2000s. At best, it evokes a vintage charm, and at worst, it is trapped in time.

There are some clumsy missteps, for sure, like the way Joke’s On Us leans so heavily on the guitar noodling for a mid-tempo song that already features strings. Meanwhile, the thudding Maeve drags and repeats itself a few too many times. Carousel, however, pairs a memorable, soaring chorus with a good amount of riffage, and Bubbles is a solid rock song, albeit one you could hear on any mid-afternoon festival stage. It all makes Envy an album for an era, but maybe not the present.

Verdict: 2/5

For Fans Of: Memphis May Fire, The Word Alive, New Years Day