FROST*

What I didn't expect at all was the complexity and sheer brilliance of opener "Hyperventilate". It starts almost dreamily, with sounds evocative of native American flutes before the piano tinkles in gently. Gradually Jem expands the music, playing up and down the keyboards in a gentle introduction, until a repeated sequence starts to take prominence. This builds until John comes crashing in with guitars following the same pattern then all hell breaks loose and it is off and devil take the hindmost. This is a soaring climatic instrumental with guitars and keyboards swapping roles while Andy and JJ provide total rock support. Just when you think that there can't be anymore the songs lifts, turns and then implodes on itself and falls back to piano and then it is off again. At the end of this song I was already in awe ? could this be the best prog debut since Spock's Beard? The other songs show a more structured side to the band, but one that is very hard hitting and riff hungry. This is a style of music that could probably be called prog metal, but it is far removed from Threshold as the melodies are stronger and this is packed full of hooks and is totally infectious. Jem may have written all of the material but he has surrounded himself with guys that know how to deliver, and the result is an album that may only be six songs long but this is sheer quality. If ever you doubted that the British prog scene could kick out something new and exciting then you should know that this is just incredible.

Feedback #89 2006

That said, I don't feel that the songwriting has improved from the last record. There's a new vocalist, but he isn't any more impressive than the previous, and again we scarcely hear his voice without being somehow distorted, which comes off more as a crutch than anything. The entire record is in fact over-produced, a criticism that's especially biting in this genre where squeaky-clean production is already the norm. There's just a constant wall of studio-filtered sound that gets tiring. Quickly. The melodies are also not spectacular, and don't justify all the energy and WILD DYNAMIC CHANGES shoved onto them - we get sudden shifts from soft to loud, but why? They don't service the songs, and they aren't particularly interesting. It should also be noted that the record's "loud mode" doesn't come off as crushing or energetic or anything like that - it's just loud, with a wall of power chords perpetually muddying it.

I actually want to like this record, as it has many of the surface elements I enjoy - neo-prog with pop influences that's hard hitting with lots of "modern" elements. But it's just not good, and repeated listens haven't allowed me to warm up to it. The worst of the record is probably Toys, which is unbelievably uninspired - listen to that if you want to hear the brunt of my criticism, and if you can stomach that without hating it, then maybe the rest of the record won't seem as bad to you. As for me, I'm giving this two stars, if only because I feel that one star is too extreme for such a professional record performed by such competent musicians.

The opening track 'Hyperventilate' gives an indication of what is to come. Fantastic track. I just adore 'Snowman' for its quirkiness. I haven't heard quirkiness like this in years and it works brilliantly.

The last two tracks 'Black Light Machine' and Milliontown are masterpieces of music of any genre. I cannot even put into words how brilliant I think the track 'Milliontown' is. I have to say that I am massive fan of this album. I can't admit to being a fan of all of Jem Godfrey's work (yes I'm talking about Jem's daytime job!) but Frost* changed my life and I can only thank him for that. A classic. A masterpiece. Great prog or great pop, whatever it is, to me it is an essential part of any music collection. I think I said the same thing about 'The Underfall Yard'. But it's true! God, I hope Jem gets his health back and resurrects Frost*. I really miss them!

The music on the album is hook oriented progressive rock. Frost* very successfully combine hard rocking progressive rock (bordering metal at times) with clever pop melody hooks. The most pop oriented tracks like "Falling Down" and "Toys" come off a bit banale to me, while the more progressive tracks like the opening title track, "Welcome to Nowhere", "Pocket Sun" and "Dear Dead Days" are pretty impressive. The very pop oriented ballad type track "Saline" is a very well composed song and while it´s bordering sirupy, Frost* pull it off. The vocals and the vocal harmonies are pleasant and well sounding and the musicianship on the album is generally very impressive. But the professional sound production (clean, synth driven and powerful) and the way the songs are composed also deserve respect. "Experiments in Mass Appeal" is through and through a very professional sounding quality release. It´s up to debate if the pop elements are a bit too dominant, but I´m sure that´s an aquired taste. Personally I like Frost* the most when they rock out or play their progressive stuff.

Compared to "Milliontown" I find "Experiments in Mass Appeal" slightly less interesting, but I still have great respect for how well produced, well written and well played the album is. I´d say a 3.5 star rating is warranted. If Frost* were ever to make a fully progressive rock oriented album and skip a couple of the most banale pop elements, I think my interest in the band would increase significantly. They certainly have the right tools to succeed in a mission like that.

the lineup is strong with John Mitchell from It Bites and Kino, John Jowitt from Arena,and IQ, Dec Burke from the underrated Darwin's Radio and the last minute replacement Nick D'Virgilio from Spock Beard, the musicanship is great, the songs excellent and we even have a new song the wonderful "The Dividing Line".

Order it and enjoy it . It's worth every penny and the 3 to 5 weeks for delivery .

Best songs: "Pocket Sun" (4:29) (9/10), "Experiments in Mass Appeal" (7:57) 8/10), "Toys" (3:06) (8/10), and of course, the masterful "Falling Down."

The "sixteen minute" epic, "Wonderland," is worth mentioning for its first six minutes--which are top-notch prog rock--but then the song just disappears. It just stops. After about a minute's silence another totally different (and, frankly, much blander) song returns. What's up with that?!

A good album--one that I don't listen to all that often (I think cuz it all kind of blends together, homogenized, if you know what I mean, in one sitting), though I listen to "Falling Down" and the song "Milliontown" quite a lot.

The most notable thing about Frost* is that they feel like a very fresh band-they never appear to blatantly be copying or homaging prog acts from the '70s. "Hyperventilate" is an amazing song and one of my very favorite instrumentals in prog, and it's largely because it distinctly feels like its own animal while keeping the beauty and mystery of prog past. The piano is gorgeous and catchy, but it doesn't sound like it's trying to emulate Firth of Fifth or Gentle Giant-it simply sounds like Frost*. In a genre that has nearly collapsed due to the constant recycling and regurgitation of old themes and tired influences, that's as good as can be expected from a modern prog group.

Things continue steadily from there, with "No Me No You" proving to be equal parts soaring and intense, inspiring and menacing. "Snowman" works as a short, pensive interlude with some truly inspired keyboard and segues nicely into "The Other Me", which forges pieces of pop, industrial and prog and sprinkles in some sharp songwriting("My handywork will hunt me down and masquerade as me") into a song that could serve equally as a soundtrack passage or a hit single. Finally, "Black Light Machine", while featuring a somewhat "been there, done that" anti-war message, has some truly beautiful passages and the last few minutes feature a wonderfully evocative, sci-fi inspired instrumental section that many other bands only wish they could pull off with the sort of clarity and intuition that Frost* uses here.

Indeed, if there's anything wrong with this album, it's the title track. It manages to mix all of the best parts of the first half hour of the album and then simply extend them past the point of caring. It works for a while but by the time you're 15 minutes in you'll be checking your watch. The title track is, sadly enough, a perfect example of too much of a good thing.

Still, any fan of progressive rock owes it to themselves to check this album out. Jem Godfrey knows all the right buttons to push when it comes to listenability, and combined with the grand scale and complex instrumentation, "Milliontown" is an album that prog heads and mainstream listeners alike will find equal value in. Highly recommended.

Milliontown gets-r-done for me.

I'm going to be honest: I really only listen to this album for the first and final songs (like Spock's Beard's V, which wouldn't surprise me if it was hatched from the same prog-egg as Milliontown), although Black Light Machine is also a good listen with some catchy verses and interesting solos.

Hyperventilate kicks things off nicely. Let's see, we've got 3/4, 4/4, 5/4, and 7/4, which all can go by without really noticing because the melodies and playing are just flat out fun. Again, there's really nothing holding it together, but they pull it off.

I will appreciate Milliontown for what it is, because I don't think we're likely to get another epic from Jem. That's OK--they've left their mark nicely in my opinion. I find it pleasant and interesting throughout, but special mention must be made for the final 10 minutes or so: they are just rocking out and I love it. High energy, fun and well-played--what's not to like?

One oddity is with the individual contributions to this supergroup. Without seeing the line-up, I would not have guessed that Jowitt, Edwards and Mitchell are playing on this album. Edwards fills things up much more than I can remember in his IQ work (and to nice effect, to be sure), while I can barely hear Jowitt at all (though I suppose this is intentionally a blatant guitar-synth-drum mix). Finally, I am stunned that I often mistake Mitchell's playing for a synth. Very restrained and very robotic. It sounds very good, but it's hard to be happy with a t-bone when someone's having filet mignon right next to you.

All in all, I usually enjoy my visits to Milliontown, and I'm glad it happened. If you like the over-the-top instrumentals that neo prog can sometimes deliver, you can't get much better or more consistent than Milliontown.