Five years ago the hard rock band, Framing Hanley released their cover of Lil' Wayne's "Lollipop" and this unique cover helped the band to break out into the mainstream industry. Since that highly successful YouTube video, the band has been touring and working on new music and they have now released their latest album The Sum Of Who We Are.
The Sum of Who We Are has the rock sound that fans have come to know from the group which includes hard guitar rifts and an intense vocal range from Kenneth Nixon. This album has a similar vibe to that of their 2007 debut The Moment. This intense style of rock that echoes the likes of Story of the Year and Taking Back Sunday has not been heard for a while in mainstream rock songs that are on the radio.
The hard hitting instruments help to fill out the aggressive and powerful tone that Nixon features on every track. From the opening track "Criminal" the band puts their hard rock sound up front and does not apologize for not fitting into the modern rock stream. What is impressive and stands out on The Sum of Who We Are is that as a group, the band has moved their sound into a new direction and they are willing to show some creativity experimentation while always staying true to their hard rock musical roots.
The Sum of Who We Are is targeting the fan base that has come to know this rock style and is looking for new music in the genre. For fans that are not a fan of this hard hitting 90s rock style, this will not be the album for them.
Stand out tracks on the album include, "Streetlights & Silhouettes," "Forever Till' The End" and "No Saving Me."