GHOSTS

It sounds like the album cover.

Frequency Drift's atmospheric, arboreal sound is perfectly reflective of the foggy lake depicted on the cover of their third and latest album, 'Ghosts.' A German band founded a few years back with a cinematic inspiration fueling the fires beneath their heels, they have since earned a warm following of listeners, enchanting by the ethereal music they make. 'Ghosts' is the first experience I have had with Frequency Drift, and it has met my ears with great approval. I had heard some some great things about what this band were up to, and I would tend to agree; 'Ghosts' is a wonderfully cinematic piece of work. Fans of atmospheric rock and ambient music; seek no further.

The music of 'Ghosts' transports me to a tranquil world, nothing too unlike that of Celtic mythology. Frequency Drift keeps fairly mellowed out and peaceful in their music, with the performance being shared more or less equally by guitars, pianos, and violin. On top of that, we have a pair of vocalists, one male, the other female. The band has themselves a perfect template to make 'otherworldly' music, and they manage to accomplish that longed-for sense of fantasy through their instruments. The angelic voice of Antje Auer in particular suits the direction of the music perfectly, sometimes reminding me of Lisa Gerrard, of Dead Can Dance fame. Instrumentally, the violin work of Frank Schmitz stands out, rarely leaning towards a prescribed melody, but instead trimming the air with a lush higher-register tone that lines up with Auer's vocals.

The songwriting on the album tends to favour longer tracks, and for the direction of the music, I would say that this is the best thing that Frequency Drift could have done, given their approach and style. None of these are 'epics' by the traditional prog rock definition of the term. Instead, the compositions float like ambient pieces, loosely flowing but never feeling improvised. This can tend to feel a little aimless upon initial listens, but it warms up as the music becomes more familiar. Really, the only thing that stands out as being less-than- excellent on 'Ghosts' is actually the production. True enough, the sound is clear and far from lo-fi, but for such an atmospheric performance, the way this music has been recorded lacks the organic quality that I would crave for music like this. The violins are doused with a fitting layer of echo, but the rest of it feels a tad restrained. For this, I feel somewhat disappointed that I cannot hear the album with a production that compliments the otherworldly nature that the rest of this work conveys.

A fine work of sincere beauty, Frequency Drift's 'Ghosts' does well to transport the listener to the lake on its album cover. A few things don't sit perfectly with me, but it comes highly recommended.

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