DAY AND AGE

Day And Age is the fourth studio album released by Frost*, that now long established vehicle of Jem Godfrey, perennial performer John Mitchell, and Nathan King. On this 2021 release, we have three drummers appearing, but unlike the triple-headed monster that is King Crimson, Pat Mastelotto (of that triple-headed monster), Kaz Rodriguez, and Darby Todd do not all play at the same time. Completing the line-up is Jason Isaacs, an actor whose main claim to fame in the Laz household is the fact he played the original captain on Star Trek Discovery. I am pretty surprised that I am the first Collaborator on PA to submit a review, because the band are considered, rightly, one of the more important UK bands to have emerged in the 2000's.

Humour is a sometimes difficult tool to use in music, and especially in the altogether "intellectually superior" world of progressive rock. So, when a charming young female English voice proclaims at the commencement of the album "hello, and welcome to the rest of your life. Before we begin this short journey, please sit back, relax, and remember, enjoy yourselves??..You Scum!", you either raise a chuckle, raise your eyebrows, or think to yourself, oh yeah, that's me, raise a glass to the scum making up the plebian classes of modern life. In my case, in fact, all three!

This interesting narrative moves into a nearly 12 minutes of very enjoyable modern prog as the title track blasts through your stereo speakers. The lyrics and rather dystopian tone of a thunderous beat suggest to us that we are not living and dying in a particularly progressive or positive age, and that for poor old humanity, the writing is indeed on the wall, lyrics which could easily have been written by a certain Private Fraser of Dad's Army fame. We're doomed, doomed, I tell ye! There follows a very enjoyable mid-passage in which the participants seem to musically circle each other and we the listeners, and the riffs created are deeply impressive, and special mention for Rodriguez who really does belt out the drums here. The sense of menace is heightened by the return of our young lady who ethereally voices her ubiquitous charm over the pounding riffs. The pace, if anything, quickens to a pulsating crescendo as the track ends. Extremely impressive, and as good as anything this band have done.

Those of you who enjoy Mitchell's Lonely Robot projects will find much to enjoy and recognise in Terrestrial. Godfrey's keys portray more sense of deep foreboding and there is a crushing guitar riff at the forefront of a very heavy piece of music which also contains far more subtle and quieter moments, and never fails to capture the attention.

This is followed by Waiting for the Lie, which brings us down somewhat from the freneticism which preceded it. The vocals are spacey, and the piano and electronic effects at the heart of the melody provide a satisfying contrast and a very good piece of music. At the end, our now familiar young lady exhorts us all to "wake up!", presumably just in case you have been lulled into a psych state of musical or drug induced stupor, and, indeed, quite possibly both at the same time of asking.

The Boy Who Stood Still is a story, narrated by Captain Lorca, of a boy who can, erm, stand completely still and observe the human races' many foibles in a suspended state. Godfrey creates a fascinating soundscape underneath all of this, and the basslines of King are particularly thunderous supporting both the narrative and some very good vocal harmonies. The closing section is heavy with the harmony vocals very powerful, before we are exhorted once again to "enjoy yourselves", this time by a lady of the American persuasion. A very clever track.

Island Life follows, and this is another pulsating heavy track, with lyrics now repeating the familiar refrain to enjoy ourselves, this time on our holidays, but the mood amplified by the swirling keys, looping bass, and thumping drums do not really put one in mind of a relaxing time on the Mediterranean beaches. Skywards is a relatively shorter track, downbeat but a fascinating listen with the virtuosity Mastelotto brings to the drum and percussion department. In fact, this is a track I believe could quite easily sit alongside the later Crimson industrial musical phase.

Kill The Orchestra continues this downbeat, some might say rather bleak, mood, although the music which creates this is about as diverse as it gets. It opens with a gentle vocal and simple piano arrangement, although the statement that we should kill the orchestra as they are dying anyway is not particularly guaranteed to cheer one up. As the piece moves into its main body, there is a lovely rhythm created before we are hit by a thunderbolt of alternate industrial metal riffs and the return of those gentle loops. This is a track which absolutely keeps a hold of the listener because you never really know where it is going, and I say that in a positive way. A deep bass voice advises the listener to "relax and enjoy yourselves" once again towards the close, and this does lead us into a beautiful passage of music led by swirling keys and a delicious, albeit far too short, pastoral guitar solo. Indeed, a reasonable criticism I would put out here is that the album might have been more complete with some extended examples of this.

Closing proceedings is Repeat To Fade, and this is hypnotic stuff, albeit something that might be considered as something out of your darkest and scariest nightmares. We have the main lyric of the song title alongside some very dark sound effects, screams, and operatic resonances, all underpinned by more thundering drums (Mastelotto again) and bass, but, once again very cleverly, interrupted by some perfectly lovely passages. As all this builds to a final manic two-minute crescendo of noise, and we have a psychotically bonkers voice shouting at us "enjoy yourselves! Everything is ok, you scum!"

This review is of the first cd of a Deluxe Version. CD2 contains some very impressive instrumental versions of the main body of work.

This is not an album for the fainthearted. The initial humour I described at the top is pretty much gone by the end, and what we have here is a rather dystopian view of the world, which most certainly should not be listened to intently when one is experiencing a negatively life changing experience ? we might never see you again! It is a very good rock album, and it is altogether marvellous in its execution, production, and ability to hold our attention, but, by God, it is rather bleak, and perhaps not the type of album which a young Jon Anderson with his hippy perspective on the universe would have imagined progressive rock in 2021 to be about.

Four stars, and recommended, but do, please, put on Time And A Word after, if only to pick yourselves up off the floor and get going again.

Ok, I'm going to start with the wow factor. This album spoke to me more than any album has probably in like a decade. This album is so good that I'm writing my first review since 2015.

I've been a Frost* fan since I discovered them in '06, Milliontown is typically on my top ten albums list and they're one of those bands that I always make a point to check out when a new album comes out. So, I decided to give this one a spin a month or so ago. Immediately, I'm pulled in, the album just said 'Hello' to me, it's addressing me specifically . . . ok, I'm intrigued. Then it insults me, 'You Scum!' and I'm like, 'hey, let's not get personal here'.

And then the music kicks in. It's driving, the guitar is poignant, and then the lyrics kick in and the echoing 'who am I, who am I' resonates with me. In 2021, we've gone through so much history in the past year and a half, that I think we're all asking who we are. . . and suddenly I have a voice to my inner thoughts. 'We're living in a dying age, when the writing's on the wall, and we're burning with a quiet rage'. . . . ok, I'm hooked. I love everything about the opener.

The next songs are good and keep me interested and I'm kind of bopping along, then comes 'The Boy Who Stood Still' and again, I'm hooked. I need to hear the story of this boy, I'm hinging on every word narrated by Jason Issacs, the voice is perfect for the song, and the production is spot on. I loved the story and frankly, this is probably the most hopeful part of the album. Listen to the call back at the very end of the album, I think the 'can you hear me' question has got to be the boy from this song.

I think you can make a case for the last four songs to be an epic of . . . well, epic proportions. Throughout the entire back half, a lot of themes are repeated, and the songs show a certain consistency, aside from just the repeated order to 'Enjoy Yourself'. Island Life is this happy, jaunty song about vacation and the joys of holiday and how you'd better f'ing enjoy yourself or else. Skywards sounds like a reprise to Island Life with tones of the epic cacophony yet to come. In addition, the lyrics are a deliciously dark statement on blaming God for your troubles, 'What's skywards is not to blame'. On the epic theme, the keys in the chorus are a precursor to 'Kill the Orchestra'.

'Kill the Orchestra' starts off softly, but again, the bleakness of the lyrics shine through, 'Kill the orchestra, we're dying anyway.' This song takes you on an emotional crescendo building up to about the six-and-a-half-minute mark when it drops down and we are again reminded to 'Relax, Everything is OK, Enjoy Yourselves' as we enjoy a musical call back to the opening track. We get a tasty John Mitchel solo towards the end of the song, which only serves up the final track, giving us a glimpse at the 'Repeat to Fade' motif.

Then holy smokes, 'Repeat to Fade' gives me goosebumps. This song has everything going on in it, crashing guitars, Middle Eastern vocals clashing with angry screaming, trippy keyboards and again, the order to 'Enjoy Yourself . . . You Scum'. I cannot fully describe how much this song speaks to me. It's not a happy song, it's as dark and bleak as we get and a perfect coda to the album.

If you're looking for a happy uplifting album, this isn't it. If you're looking for something that captures the ennui and sense of helplessness of Gen X in 2021, then this may be your prog anthem. Is it a fun album, no, but it's an album that makes me realize, that I'm not alone. With a relevant theme, a fantastic mix and spot on musicianship, this album is gripping. Oh, and I almost forgot.

ENJOY YOURSELF, EVERYTHING IS OK . . . YOU SCUM!

A Return to Milliontown?

Day and Age is definitely a step away from the lean, compacted, futuristic song constructs that Jem and company presented to Prog World in 2008 with their sophomore collection of songs, the exciting-though-jarring Experiments in Mass Appeal. In 2016, principal collaborators, Jem Godfrey and John Mitchel, teamed up with Nathan King and drummer Craig Blundell to create another collection of high-powered, compressed, and highly computer-edited songs on Falling Satellites, a good though, sadly, forgettable Crossover product. Here it almost seems as if the wintery gents are trying to get back to the heavier, drawn out Neo Prog forms they initially explored with their wonderful 2006 debut, Milliontown. Jem, John, and Nathan have here added some interesting drumming collaborators to present a very atmospheric and often heavy, though also, at times, symphonic compendium of expression.

1. "Day and Age" (11:49) Despite it's driven fast pace and heavy chorus, this song owes much to Peter Gabriel-- especially "Red Rain." The drumming seems pressed, the guitar work quite reminiscent of that of TOTO's great Steve Lukather, the bass like Tony Levin, and the layers of keys awesomely agreeable and not-over-produced-- though often Fender Rhodes driven á la M. Gabriel. I like, and feel engaged by, the non-lead vocal, instrumental sections of this song--even the foreboding section in the ninth minute with the children's choir singing, while the main vocal sections are just okay--are greatly saved by the Phil Manzanera-like guitar work and driving bass and drum lines. (22/25)

2. "Terrestrial" (5:12) despite great keyboard and guitar work, this is a rather generic, cookie cutter, power Frost* song. (8.5/10)

3. "Waiting for the Lie" (4:31) opens with a jazzy piano sequence of arpeggi over which a David Gilmour-like vocal is whisper-sung. A symphonic mid-section softens for a chorus vocal and a shift into a PORCUPINE TREE-like mood as drums and bass effectively join in as Jem's vocal soars and amps into an emotional crescendo. Nice. (8.75/10)

4. "The Boy Who Stood Still" (7:33) narrated by actor Jason Isaacs (Mr. Darling/Captain Hook on 2003's Peter Pan; Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series; Hap Percy on The OA), The Boy definitely presents an interesting, intriguing story--a kind of flip-perspective take of The Invisible Man. The music is great--with Tony Levin-like bass, driving Manu Katché-like drums, and layers upon layers of keyboard and effected guitar work. M. Isaacs has an awesome voice and approach to this performance--quite powerful and effective in an Orson Wells/Jeremy Irons-like way. And the music is dynamic, exciting, providing excellent background even though it remains surprisingly busy and nuanced when M. Isaacs is speaking and also quite interesting and dynamic in its own right when it is the primary feature. My first top three song and, in my opinion, the best song on the album--and one of the best songs I've heard from 2021. (15/15)

5. "Island Life" (4:14) media samples open before Jem's PETER GABRIEL treated-raspy voice enters to introduce the song. The band jumps in with nice enthusiasm and impressive pace and skill. Nathan King really shines, for me. John Mitchell's guitar work is nicely subdued in its support role and the drumming is right in the mix. The song is apparently about nuclear weapons and radiation poisoning--delivered by an adequate vocal performance. What is surprisingly low key here, are the keyboards! (8.5/10)

6. "Skywards" (4:15) Here Jem Godfrey's vocal sounds so much like Peter Gabriel--until the chorus and stronger parts when it becomes more like THE PINEAPPLE THIEF's Bruce Soord. Great dynamics, bass presence, nuanced drumming and, of course, keyboard mastery. A top three song, to be sure, though still bringing nothing new to Prog World. (9/10)

7. "Kill the Orchestra" (9:27) solo electric piano and palintive vocal for the first two minutes, it sounds almost like a passage from a BUGGLES song. When the song kicks into drive in the third minute, Jem's voice takes on a JOHN MARTYN-like sound. Heavy Frost*/John Mitchell bridge between the first two verses of this section, it returns in the fifth minute to briefly support the chorus. Then the song shifts into a busier instrumental support to the vocals leading into another blast of the chorus before bridging into a spacious, creepy keyboard-based "What have we done?" section starting in the seventh minute and playing into 7:45 before shifting moods with thick, multi-synth chords. At 8:30 things quiet down as cymbals support some bass notes and Gilmour-ish guitar, Keyboard chord play, and (17.75/20)

8. "Repeat to Fade (6:15) bleeding straight from "Kill the Orchestra," it is obvious that this Pink Floyd/Peter Gabriel- like song is part of a two song suite. (Why were the two split apart?) The bass play sounds so TONY LEVIN-esque! And the chorus sounds so much like "We Do What We're Told (Milgrim's 37)." Another top three song for me despite it's Peter Gabriel and Frost* familiarity. (9/10)

Total Time 53:16

Had Peter Gabriel ever continued on a trend toward heavy prog, this might have been what he sounded like. I have to say that I prefer the enthusiastic drumming of an invested Craig Blundell (a highlight of Falling Satellites) to the paid contributors here. Jem is a master of multi-layering keyboards and I love the way John Mitchell's restraint and excellently nuanced rhythm work reveal more and more with each listen, but it's Nathan King's bass playing that really keeps me coming back.

B+/4.5 stars; an excellent addition to any prog lover's music collection.

Frost* are back... you scum! Neo-progressive and pop rock supergroup Frost*'s fourth studio album was released in May of 2021, some five years after the unusual but very successful 'Falling Satellites'. It has to be said from the get-go that every new Frost* release is a big event in the world of prog, and there are good reasons for this: the British master musicians have been one of the best collectives to come from the UK last decade, and their discography up to that point is nothing less than groundbreaking.

With high expectations, a lot of time on their hands, and crazy times to be living in, these people have certainly crafted one of the finest prog rock albums not only of this year, but certainly of this decade. The big change with the previous albums is that Frost* parted ways with drumming extraordinaire Craig Blundell, known also as part of the Steven Wilson live band; And his replacements are three different people coming from different bands playing different music, which are Pat Mastelotto, Kaz Rodriguez, and Darby Todd - this is an interesting move for sure, but there are moments where it feels like the involvement in the writing process that a regular band member has, is gone.

Properly naming the album 'Day and Age', this record seems to continue the thematic explorations of 'Falling Satellites', which some may recall, was described by Jem Godfrey as his 'mid-life crisis album'. On this new release, Frost* take a critical look upon our wicked times and comment on the grim reality, contrasting with the little girl (later a male narrator) telling the listeners to enjoy themselves, while living in this day and age; A message that seems to be not too far away from the lyrical content of the latest Steven Wilson release. John Mitchell, Jem Godfrey, and Nathan King are, as usual, very elegantly playing, masterfully in charge of the music, depicting every bit of their imagination with graceful musical prowess. All this makes up for a pretty impressive album and another really good installment in this band's catalogue.

A great return to form, 'Day and Age' is, in my humble opinion, a sort of continuation of their previous, third studio album. The album is quite different from 'Milliontown', for example, but it manages to deliver that same vital energy. The songs are quite atmospheric, pretty mature, well-composed and certainly not standard when compared to the music of Frost*'s peers. A very peculiar decision by the band is to leave off all soloing that they are usually so fond of doing; a decision that certainly pays off nicely, as the absence of solos is replaced by layers of guitar and synth sounds, building up an ominous but comforting ambience. Some very notable highlights would include the title track, 'Terrestrial', 'The Boy Who Stood Still', 'Kill the Orchestra', 'Repeat to Fade', but in reality, there are no weak compositions or songs. An excellent album that would be a fantastic addition to any prog lover's collection.

I hate punctuation marks as a part of a band's moniker so i admit i have a chip on my shoulder about FROST* right from the getgo. It irritates me to no end not knowing how to pronounce a band's name. Is it just FROST or is it FROST ASTERISK? Ultimately i don't care enough and have just avoided this artist altogether but having an insatiable musical appetite dictates i finally check out an album by this London based band that has been around since 2004. Best known for making neo-proggers go gaga with its debut release "Milliontown" in 2006, FROST* is back with a new album.

For those who don't already know this band, this has basically been the solo project of vocalist, keyboardist and pop song composer Jem Godfrey. The FROST* project has been his way of crafting his pop hooks with more textural complexities and oft overwrought production techniques. DAY AND AGE is the fourth album to emerge and sees a new set of cast members joining ranks. Arena's John Mitchell has been with Godfrey from the start and returns as the guitarist. Bassist Nathan King of the 80s synthpop band Level 42 sticks around for his second album.

With the departure of drummer Craig Blundell, FROST* now features three guests drummers which includes Pat Mastelotto (King Crimson, Mister Mister), Kaz Rodriguez (Chaka Khan, Josh Groban) and Darby Todd (The Darkness, Martin Barre). Jason Isaacs appears as a second vocalist along with Godfrey. The band's last album "Falling Satellites" appeared all the way back in 2016 but the EP "Others" appeared in 2020 and signaled that the band was still alive and kicking. Together these guys keep FROST* alive with another installation of its classic Genesis meets 80s Peter Gabriel sound forged with catchy pop hooks and atmospheric rivers of ambience.

This is somewhat of a bouncy sort of sound for neo-prog. You can certainly hear the 80s synthpop connections with those famous drumrolls that appeared in all those synth-based hits of prog's least productive decade. Basically the eight tracks that add up to over 53 minutes showcase keyboard overload with guitars, bass and drums somewhat as a backdrop. I'm not sure how many layers of synthesized parts are involved but they mostly dominate the album's entirety. To my ears this sounds more like a more complex Peter Gabriel solo album than anything in the world of neo-prog. Despite the Arena connections, nothing about FROST* resembles that band's cleverly crafted complexities.

Perhaps this an acquired taste that i've yet not acclimated to but i find this style of symphonic prog to be rather saccharine and uninviting. I'm not sure who sings where but the exchange of vocal parts sounds like a tradeoff between classic Gabriel inspired vocals and Neil Morse. The slow parts are in sappy ballad formats while the heavier uptempo aspects of the album sound like a better produced pop rock hit of the 1980s. While not my cup of tea, i have to admit the complexities of the keyboards are the highlight of the album's production heavy sound. I find the longer tracks such as the opening title track and the near 10-minute "Kill The Orchestra" to be the most redeeming however some parts actually remind me of George Michael songs with more guitar heft. There are several spoken word parts as well.

While neo-prog has always been the poppier side of the prog universe, FROST* seems to take this to the ultimate extreme almost sounding like a progressive version of 80s synthpop music only with a bit of guitar heft thrown in for good measure. When all is said and done this isn't horrible but neither is it the type of album that makes me want to return. The album is just too sappy and happy for my tastes. There is no diversity in emotive tapestry weaving and it's all a bit too one-dimensional for my tastes. I honestly don't see the appeal of this band but no matter how hard i try i guess i can't like everything!

Back in 1986 keyboard player Jem Godfrey formed Freefall, who were soon opening for the likes of IQ, Geoff Mann, Ark and Galahad. However, at some point he decided it might be an idea to make a living out of music instead of playing prog, becoming a composer and producer of pop hits, working with the likes of Atomic Kitten, Blue, Ronan Keating, Lulu and Samantha Mumba. But prog kept calling to him and in 2004 he formed Frost* with Andy Edwards and John Jowitt of IQ along with guitarist John Mitchell (Arena, Kino etc.) Their debut album, 'Milliontown', was an immediate hit within the prog scene, and although there have been some changes and absences over the years, they are finally back with their fourth release. The line-up now is consolidated around the trio of Godfrey, Mitchell and bassist Nathan King, and instead of using a single drummer they have instead utliised the services of Kaz Rodriguez (Chaka Khan, Josh Groban), Darby Todd (The Darkness, Martin Barre) and Pat Mastelotto (Mister Mister, King Crimson). They all bring very different styles, and the band have been able to utilise these to create shifting dynamics between songs.

The result is a modern progressive rock album which is just as exciting as the very first time I came across these guys more than 15 years ago. Mitchell has no need whatsoever to prove his prog credentials as he appears in so many different places, while Godfrey is a multi-million selling songwriter and producer, and together they have created a band which truly excites people. It is not unusual for me to the first contributor to an album on PA, but that is certainly not the case with these guys as there are plenty ahead of me, such is the hold they have on the scene. Only four albums, but they are always a delight with the band incredibly tight, harmonies abounding, plenty of guitar but never to the detriment of the overall sound.

Some album introductions get a little cheesy over the years, but somehow I will never get past the small child telling us to sit back and relax, and "enjoy yourselves?. You scum". I did sit back and enjoy myself, and didn't take the scum comment personally, and found that this is an album full of light and dark, passion and power, quietness and very loud guitars, all with a commercial sensibility and complexity of arrangement which is just plain fun. Neo-prog just does not get any better than this.

This album is a proghead's delight from start to finish, and is possibly their best one yet.