A-frames.

SEATTLE'S A FRAMES ARE NOT WHAT you'd expect from a traditional drum/bass/ guitar combo. Best described as lo-fi experimental with elements of punk and new wave a la The Fall or Wire, the A Frames' approach to rock is methodical, minimal, even clinical. Erin Sullivan's razor sharp guitar progressions and expressionless vocals cut through Lars Finberg's cold steel automatic drumming and Min Yee's throbbing bass lines. On Black Forest, their third full length and first record for Sub Pop, the group reflects on the fusion of humans and technology while maintaining their unique sense of melody and identity, and a down to earth perspective that keeps the creative process exciting, fresh, and above all fun.

You've been a band since 1999 and also play in several other groups together (The Intelligence, the Dipers and Climax Golden Twins). What do you respect about each of your band mates?

Erin: It's weird, we're all different and yet we get along and have a lot of fun. At most of our practices we end up drinking beer and just listening to music on my iPod or Min's Nero.

What's a Nero?

Lars: It's like the poor man's iPod. It's supposed to be better, but it's really a big BETA version of an iPod.

Erin: Min is the music guy. He's the one who finds all the rad stuff. Lars and I write most of the music but he's the one who plays us the stuff that influences a lot of what we do.

Where does he download all this music?

Erin: He finds most of it on Soulseek. Before, he was part of these online music-trading groups where you would have to show up with one obscure record that you had digitized to share with the group.

Lars: It's like Magic the Gathering for fucking record nerds.

You always play the dive bars rather than the rock clubs in town. Why?

Lars: It's more fun to play on the floor and have a wall of either your friends or people that get what you're doing than opening for some big band where you actually have to talk to a sound guy. You see bands reaching for the brass rings that are so wrapped up in becoming something that they forget not to suck. There's something attractive about doing things for yourself.

You released the first two records with your good friend Scott Soriano of SS Records, who also records and produces you along with Chris Woodhouse. I know that you're also friends with some of the folks at Sub Pop. Did you take this record more seriously because it was for a bigger label or was it still pretty familial?

Lars: The level of business that we had to step up to, like getting a lawyer to argue with contracts so we didn't get pinched, really surprised me.

Erin: It was definitely more effort than putting out something with your friends where it's a 50/50 split. I don't think any of us fantasize about being a band that makes a huge gob of money. We just wanted more people to hear it.

Was Black Forest finished before you brought it to Sub Pop?

Erin: Yeah, I finished mixing it with Chris and Scott in November. It's funny because I've already read stuff where reviewers are like "Oh, you can tell they're a Sub Pop band." Lars: We didn't use their money. If it had been the third record for SS it would have been the same exact thing.

You have steady day jobs. Min works for a school district, Lars works for Amazon and Erin works as a photographer for Corbis. Are you ever frustrated that your day jobs get in the way of your music?

Erin: We're old enough to know that if you try and live off your music it's going to be a nightmare and probably won't work. Of course all of us would rather not have a stupid day job, but we also realize that we have ...

Lars: Families and houses. It's not like being in a little punk band where you come home from tour with $200 and pay the rent in the one room of the five-bedroom house you live in. I think it's kinda unrealistic.

Erin: After signing to Sub Pop I don't think any of us were like, "this is it." Not that we won't milk it for everything that we can. It's more about paying for tours to Europe and Japan. We're happy for the band not to cost us money any longer and if we end up making a little extra then great, but we really want to keep it fun.