a frames: s/t

Originally released in 2002, the A Frames’ debut album was a sleeper. That is hard to believe today, as the record has been called “one of the few great new American rock records” (Byron Coley and Thurston Moore, Arthur), “the best American rock record I’ve heard since 100 Flowers” (Jon Solomon, WPRB), and “a truly amazing record made by a truly amazing band with a truly amazing sound” (Mitch Cardwell, Blank Generation). But back when it came out, people were slow to pick up on it. In 2002, S-S Records was still a young ’un, Seattle was recovering from a decade of grunge-commercialism, and punk rock had settled into a steady 1-2-3-4 count. The A Frames post-post-post punk, with its high energy angles and primitive smarts, was a bit new to the ears. A few people dug their first two singles, but most folks weren’t quite ready for a garage punk attack on Wire, Devo and Joy Division…or so they thought. As more and more people heard the A Frames’ debut, more and more became diehard fans. The record started to get rave reviews and make year-end “Best Of” lists. Those skeptical of the hype listened to the record and found that the praise was well-founded (“It’s rare to have an album this solid from top and bottom without an ounce of fluff or duff—it is deserving of any accolades heaped upon it,” Jack Cole, Pataphysics Research Journal). Even with universal props, it took more than a year to sell out of the single vinyl pressing of 500. In another two years, though, the record started fetching good money on auction and record selling sites. It has now been thirteen years since A Frames’ A Frames was first released and demand has not slackened. Though long out-of-print, S-S Records still gets requests from fans to repress it. So here it is!