I discovered the music of Frost* not too long ago. It was one of those cases of love at first sight (or sound) with ‘Experiments in Mass Appeal’. Since then after a scare of the band coming to an end, it was quite a bit of suspense anticipating a new album. And here we are today with ‘Falling Satellites’– a solid package that delights.
The album is special. Within this album, I’d want to just talk about a few special songs which I personally felt that gave the record an identity. The album started out with some fancy sounds and arrangements with “First Day” and Numbers. Great numbers but somewhat typical of a conventional ‘proggy identity’. Come ‘Towerblock’ and get blown away. The song builds up in a subtle manner and then comes the surprise- dubstep! Okay, I haven’t been a fan of dubstep really, but the settings in this song is great. A blend of all things and the EDM surprise make this a standout. Fusion is a great idea, but Frost* did not end up making their music distasteful with this experiment (in mass appeal). Apart from all the noodling on the instrumental side of things, the singing just made things so much better. Frost* comes at us with warm melodies in the form of “Lights Out”. Soothing work on the guitars, synths, bass and drums compliment the female and male vocals duo. “Heartstings” is another mixture of a lot of things. The work on this song is reminiscent of a punchy 80’s tune in some of its parts.
The last six songs on the album make up a thirty-two minute suit called “Sunlight”. Listening to this all the way through is quite a trip. “Closer to the Sun” has a weird post-rock and pop blend and feel to it. A thoroughly enjoyable track, it’ll have you tap your feet really soon. The airy feel of the song overall, voices and leads is majestic. Before you know it, the song proceeds to a weird end; thus completing the first stage of “Sunlight”. “The Raging Against the Dying of the Light Blues in 7/8” is up next. Building on where the last song left on, the song by itself seems to be quite a bit to digest. The record comes to an end on a soft note with “Last Day”. An arrangement of keys, piano and vocals, the song is bit of a surprise considering the way the album progressed so far.
“Falling Satellites” by Frost*is a brave record. Coupled with great ideas, the record is bang on the buck. The record is a time machine that more than taking you back in time, perhaps looks at arrangements and textures from trends of tomorrow. The EDM surprise, the arrangements, the work on the synth, leads, rhythm sections and vocals are tasteful. Despite featuring all sorts of proggy sounds that one might expect, the band manages to keep itself entertaining through the record. One might want to point out the music kind of sounds a little inorganic within its parts. Regardless, every song sounds refreshing within the album. From time signatures to textures to sounds, this album features a ton of variety- a buffet of sonic variety in every sense. There are parts on this album that hint out to the old Frost* sound but not entirely. You might be a fan of music from a particular era but you will love this. You might be a bass, keys, drums, guitar or even a Stick/Railboard elitist, you’ll love this record. The production is just right on the album. Different instrumentation call for different production approaches. The level of production on this record does justice to the music and the imagination of the band.
The line-up for “Falling Satellites” features Jem Godfrey on vocals, keys, Railboard, and guitar, John Mitchell on vocals and guitar, Nathan King on bass and Craig Blundell on drums.