FRAME’s “In Vain” Will Be The Soundtrack of Your Next Break Up

Summer may already be upon us, but once the patios start emptying and the tans start fading, the summer fling you've caught along the way will likely dwindle just as fast. At least, that's what Montreal-based FRAME seems to be getting at with his new music video for "In Vain."

"In Vain" is the debut solo release for Frédéric Messier, aka FRAME. Messier is the new kid on the block in terms of Montreal music. He has a penchant for exploring the fusion of the digital and analog spheres and soaking it all in ennui. The track is a big departure from his other work as one half of drum and bass duo Sub Scribes, showing off his more mature musicality and skills as a multi-instrumentalist. The intricate arrangements and haunting, repetitive melodies echo and nod at his major influences like John Hopkins and Aphex Twin, but he deftly stops short of imitation and makes it his own.

The video is set on a December day in London, giving us a cold, dystopian view of the city and reflecting the melancholy that permeates the track. By focusing on London's beacons of capitalism like the Lloyd's building and the Shard, director Laurent E. Malo touches on issues of urban isolation and the absurdity of the pursuit of happiness in modern cities. The track may very well be about the difficulties of letting someone go after they've dumped you, but paired with the video, it works as a woeful reflection on the tricky love-hate relationship we all experience with our home cities in this age of isolation. In other words: winter is coming, you sun-drenched, beach-going lovebirds.

FRAME is on Facebook // SoundCloud