"Gorgeous" is the first word that comes to mind every time I listen to this disc. But I'm not talking about fiery sunset/supermodel/Hubble space telescope type gorgeousness here. Rather, this is a spare, stripped down sort of feeling, more like a half-broken spider web or a sad, dark polaroid you found in the subway.

Everyone seems to mention Low when they talk about Tram, and truthfully, they've got so much in common that it would seem a bit silly not to mention it. But Tram makes my ears a lot happier than Low does. In particular, Paul Anderson's half-boy/half-girl voice just kills me, and the quiet lushness of the songs adds a depth that many of the other "slow/lo-fi" bands seem to lack. Frequently Asked Questions seems a lot more like the last Mojave 3 CD than anything else I've heard recently. Maybe there's a British connection in there somewhere (Tram is from London).

I keep thinking that Frequently Asked Questions sounds very "adult", whatever that means. I guess now that I'm like eight hundred and seven years old I shouldn't be surprised that I feel like an adult now and then. Paul Anderson and Nick Avery apparently started Tram after getting bored with playing in London thrash bands, a tidbit that made a lot of sense to me when I read it; this is carefully crafted and delicately balanced music, sort of the opposite of the out-of-control spew of raw energy that tends to characterize thrash.

This is not a happy album by any means; it has melancholy lyrics, slow strings, lazy slide guitar, the occasional plaintive oboe or trumpet. All the things that make feeling down sound so good! But it's not depressing either. Weary is probably a good description; weary but hopeful. And gorgeous. (Sounds like a pretty good personal ad!) It's a great combination.