Tag: frost

Is it a band, or is it a project? Definitely a project. Frost only seemingly come together when Jem has a window of opportunity from his day job of writing and producing modern pop songs for many artists. They have released four albums so far, of which this is the second, that came out in 2008. They are described as a “Neo progressive rock supergroup.” All I know is that they make great records that seem to cross all boundaries.

Experiments In Mass Appeal and Welcome To Nowhere open up the album and if they only ever made these two pieces, then they would go down as geniuses of modern progressive music. This is such an epic opening with many twists and turns, but with that emphasis on melody and accessibility always front and centre. Pocket Sun is heavier, mainly due to the drum solo that changes the groove frequently, and again that vocal melody is pure joy.

The double outro of Wonderland and The Secret Song is just epic and pure Prog heaven. I don’t know how one man can have so much music inside him. I bet Jem wakes up in the night with random melodies and vocals flowing through his mind; a very talented man. My only gripe with the whole album is that the drums sound muffled at times. There was a special vinyl master done as well, so I’m not sure what the problem is.

That doesn’t detract away from what a great album this is though.

9.5/10 from The Grooveman.

I always look on Frost as a studio project and not a band, because they have only ever played a handful of gigs. Mastermind Jem Godfrey, who is a songwriter to many of British Pop and reality show artists namely Atomic Kitten and Shayne Ward, wanted a release for his more proggy and heavier tastes. So, Frost was born.

Drummer Craig Blundell left the band prior to these recordings and was replaced by three sessions guys for the recordings, Pat Mastelotto being the most famous. I’m a big fan of John Mitchell’s vocals and his Lonely Robot project, he doesn’t disappoint here.

Opening track Day And Age is wonderfully proggy, and yet it keeps a very poppy vibe to the hook and main chorus. The instrumental section is just awesome with a a simple fat riff and groove, and the keys and samples over the top are killer. Terrestrial sounds huge and very cinematic, the keys are really driving the song. Waiting For The Lie has a beautiful soft vocal and it’s not until the final section that the tempo and groove increase. The Boy Who Stood Still starts with a narrated spoken word, but explodes in the middle with huge vocal harmonies and some epic grooves. This does remind of some late eighties pop. Island Life has a very Peter Gabriel feel to its proceedings. Skywards feels almost like the twin of Island Life, in feel anyway. Kill The Orchestra starts off almost like a lullaby. Of course that vibe is destroyed with some really heavy keys (or guitar, I’m unsure which). Repeat To Fade is a very eighties Trevor Horn vibe, and as with all the tracks on this record it sounds huge due to its monster production. Day And Age is my favourite track it’s just a monster tune.

9/10 from The Grooveman.