Framing Strangers

http://www.threeimaginarygirls.com/contentliveshowreview/2009oct/imaginary-road-trip-austin-city-limits-journal-part-i

The reality: Drop bags. Load gear from several locations. Wind up at pizza bar eating "The Lance" and getting my ass kicked by a local band called Framing Strangers.

Quite unexpectedly, I wound up at a rad little pizza place in the north loop of Austin to see a band Thursday night. After a few stops with my host to help some friends get their gear to the bar, I sat back with a big, gorgeous slice of Pagliacci-grade pizza and dug on the band taking the makeshift "stage." My ears perked up as they started to play, this band I'd never heard of called Framing Strangers -- who proceeded to blow away the crowd at the tiny-capacity bar.

Framing Strangers, by my observations, are a tight-knit authentic "alternative" band, and by "alternative" I mean the modern equivalent of whatever that word means, a genuinely independent-sounding band that I can't quite make any lateral comparisons to -- the kind of band you see opening for someone else or catch on the dial going through a town and go, "Who is this? This is fantastic!" because they don't sound like everything else. Good early-nineties punk-girl-singing-for-real vocal tones, strong sad-chord harmonies, an occasional violin, and brilliant lyrics. Undertones of the Frames, a twist of Regina Spektor, and something else really good that I just can't place kept my full attention on this four-piece through the duration of their half-hour set. - Three Imaginary Girls

http://flashbackaustin.com/flashback-funk-fest-thanks-for-making-it-a-success

Framing Strangers also floored us, first by showing up with genuine smiles in Flashback apparel looking adorable… and even more so with their amazing sound. It is SO nice to see hip and talented people who aren’t too cool to ALSO be nice. They left everyone smiling, and we want to be the official band stylist. - Flashback Vintage