On Tuesday, March 24, 2009, 16 Frames released Where It Ends, the band’s debut recording for Verve Forecast and its first on a major label. The album features 11 perfectly-crafted pop songs, all written by Steve Sulikowski, 16 Frames’ front man.
Where It Ends pairs immediately catchy rock melodies with complex, often dark, melancholy lyrics. The music resonates with fans of bands such as The Fray, U2, and Matchbox 20.
Songs from Where It Ends have already been showcased on television programs such as MTV’s The Hills and ABC’s Men In Trees, helping to establish 16 Frames as a new force in modern pop music. The band features Sulikowski on guitar and vocals with Josh Dunahoo on guitars, Dylan Wilson on bass, and Daniel James on drums.
Throughout the album, Sulikowski mines the depths of relationships between lovers and friends, parents and partners for his song lyrics. For example, his girlfriend feeling depressed one evening inspired him to write the explosive opener “Close Range,” a devastating tale of waking up to see your loved one with bags packed and headed out the door into the arms of another. The title track draws on a past relationship that came to a close since he and an ex continued to make the same mistakes over and over. Sulikowski wrote “Back Again,” the album’s gem of a first single, “at a really dark time when things couldn’t look any worse, career-wise, life-wise, just in general.”
Other songs featured on Where It Ends include the spirited “Daylight,” the hit-bound power ballad “Let’s Not Pretend,” and the touching “Coming Home.”
The band’s name comes from the world of filmmaking: it takes 16 frames for movement on film to progress from choppy to fluid. The cinematic imagery also details Sulikowski’s journey in creating the music. “My manager would tell me making a record is a lot like making movies: you have rewrites, you have dailies, and I started to look at the whole songwriting and creative process unfolding in a way like a movie. Sixteen frames is that moment when things become focused, become clear.”
16 Frames premiered the video for their single, “Back Again,” last week on mtvU where they are now spotlighted on this week’s installment of The Freshmen. Check out the video here and head over to mtvU.com to start voting.
“Back Again” video links
YouTube: 