iSound

Precisely 35 seconds into the opening track of 16 Frames’ debut album, the clouds part and a monumental chorus breaks through. “Then you wake up to the big change/To the breakup done at close range,” sings bandleader Steve Sulikowski, climbing upward through a dense forest of guitars to the top of his range. “And that love is such a cruel thing,” he continues, as he relives this heartbreaking moment, “What you want, you got/But you can’t hold on anymore.” At once intimate and overwhelming, it’s a breathtaking passage, one the listener isn’t prepared for, not only because it happens so quickly, but also because such transcendent moments are so uncommon in 21st century rock. As it turns out, conjoined musical and emotional crescendos are plentiful on Where It Ends, the album in question (released March 24 on Verve), produced by the veteran Matt Serletic (Matchbox 20, Santana’s “Smooth”). Take the album’s first single, “Back Again,” where the lyrics trace the aftermath of a break-up, ...