John Mitchell – Page 3

Live Review – Lonely Robot – The Big Dream Album Launch by Gary Morley

The following was scribbled on my phone as I watched from the vantage of the Merch Desk’s Forward command post (thanks to Brigadier Nellie Pitts).

It’s a good crowd of people with hair that time forgot… I’m jealous. My locks decided to leave me years ago, sacrificed to the trinity of job, mortgage and respectability. A plethora of tour t shirts… Yes, sundry variations on a theme of keep calm and prog /play on.

I can report that Nellie doing a brisk trade in robot paraphernalia
everyone seems to know each other and the atmosphere is good, a smell of anticipation in the air. I’m amazed that my hometown has all these like minded people.

Where do they hide? Why don’t I know anyone? Is the Lonely Robot me?
Perhaps Mr Mitchell and his crew will enlighten me. It will be an experience, seeing him on stage rather than nodding in passing as we orbit around Reading.

Sub 89 is filling up nicely and the band are on stage…

And they’re off, a quartet of songs from the debut album setting their stall out with panache and style. John Mitchell’s on stage banter is honed to a fine precision.

“Craig Blundell on drums – he’s not shit!”, being the first bon mot to raise a groaning cheer…

And the robot appeals to all, as can be seen from the Reading wildlife grooving to the first new song, a slow burn with gorgeous guitar and a hypnotic vocal.

More banter, “Ian Holmes, on bongos…”, then it’s their theme song, Lonely Robot, with its chiming guitars and thunderous drums… Some fine piano over that hypnotic drone, a robot’s soul exposed as a dark broody labyrinth of noise .

John is on fine form, singing with vigour and passion, then peeling off intricate guitar parts casually,the way only a true expert can. Equal parts Peter Gabriel and Chris Martin, he has a distinctive voice, suited to Prog or Pop.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Robot, they mix rock, prog and pop into a swirling mix that, like a black hole, draws you ever deeper in. There are flashes of Porcupine Tree guitar, those thunderous drums, a solid bass rumbling throughout and keyboards that fill out the few spaces left.

John now introduces his special guest, Kim Seviour to perform a track. Much more pop and upbeat, their voices fit and the music steams on. The hook line, “don’t forget me”, is an instant earworm and the song gets heavier until the middle 8 breaks down to a heartbeat drum pattern with some fine synth layers draped over it.

There is a commonality in Mr M’s work, from The Urbane through Arena and It Bites to The Robot clan, a melodic core, songs that burrow and charm in equal measure, vocal harmony as important as the instrument. “Are we copies” demonstrated that, with the impassioned vocals equal to the guitars.

We are then treated to a lighters in the air moment, as the next track floats over us, building the castle of sound, the voice and guitar increasingly emotive and the crowd rapt in attention, following the melody and swaying with the chorus. It was a beautiful moment. And finally, a vocal tour de force, Mr Mitchell and keyboards drifting weightlessly across our event horizon before Mr “Not Shit” thunders and bashes a drum piece, more demolition job than drum solo. He hits as hard as John Bonham and the electronic percussion effects add to the Bonham groove.

We are then warned that we are getting a velociraptor riff, a T- Rex, according to it’s creator , and the next track does just that, guitars roaring and snarling to a climactic finish.

Now for a short personal interlude, fellow passenger, Jane Armstrong has retreated from the front to recuperate and berates me for looking nothing like my Facebook avatar! It’s loud but very clear here at the merch desk, the band are in full flight now, and what a band they are, jamming away, first the keyboards taking the lead then John and his cybernetic guitar scything through the mix.

We then are treated to another of the new tracks, Sigma, which is all Nirvana approved quiet/ loud /quiet and another earworm chorus, great keyboards and stun guitar, in fact a fitting end to a great set.

So, there it was. The 4^th Law of Robotics – “Thou shall Enjoy the sounds emanating from the Robot Clan , even if you know no-one, are run down and in need of a battery charge”.

After that set, my life meter was reading full again and I slipped off into the night, clutching a copy of the new CD that Nellie insisted I purchase as, “It’s alright and they’re OK people …”

Far be it from me to question the wisdom of a Prog Queen, but sat here listening to the CD, you know what? She had erred on the side of caution. It’s a great CD, well worth investing in.

I know, I was that Lonely Robot.

Order ‘The Big Dream’ from Nellie Pitts at The Merch Desk

Review – Lonely Robot – The Big Dream – by Leo Trimming

‘To go to sleep and never wake up… to be simply not there forever and ever…

… That’s such a curious thought… that’s such a curious thought’

These spoken musings of an unidentified philosopher about sleep and death permeate the instrumental cinematic opening sequence Prologue (Deep Sleep) of Lonely Robot’s second album ‘The Big Dream’, and atmospherically sets the scene for an album which considers our mortality. Lonely Robot is a solo project from John Mitchell, renowned as guitarist, producer and vocalist with bands such as Frost*, Arena, It Bites and Kino. ‘The Big Dream’ is more reminiscent of Kino than It Bites, but such is the excellent quality and imagination of the ‘Lonely Robot’ project Mitchell has arguably now created material which surpasses the achievements of his time with either of those bands. Following on from Lonely Robot’s impressive 2015 debut ‘Please Come Home’, which featured a range of guest artists, in ‘The Big Dream’ John Mitchell takes on all the vocal, guitar and keyboard duties to great effect, alongside his Frost* band mate Craig Blundell on drums.

‘The Big Dream’ once again showcases Mitchell’s strong song writing and distinctive fine guitar style, but also shows his excellent keyboard work throughout this musically dynamic album. Whilst this is an album of ‘Big Ideas’ it is largely expressed in a series of accessible and polished rock songs, alongside some more progressive cinematic passages. For John Mitchell the song is key and whilst he undoubtedly has the musical chops he is not about indulgent technique, preferring songs punctuated with memorable hooks and riding along on waves of melodic progressive rock, such as the ‘earworm’ song Sigma and it’s heroic sounding refrain.

Similarly to ‘Please Come Home’, once again the album has a science fiction context – not a concept album as such, but with recurring themes and featuring the central character of ‘The Astronaut’. However, whilst the previous album was largely associated with Space it appears in ‘The Big Dream’ The Astronaut wakes from a cryogenic sleep in a strange woodland. There are peculiar hints of a space age Shakespeare’s ‘Midsummer Night’s Dream’ with the gentle pastoral prog pop of Floral Green, featuring some delightful vocal dexterity from Mitchell, presumably supported by Kim Seviour (ex-Touchstone) on backing vocals. A short expressive guitar solo over sensitive keyboards skilfully illustrates this delicate number… sometimes less really is more.

In contrast Everglow blasts in like some sort of sci-fi movie spectacular with powerful, driving guitars intertwining with sparkling, pulsing keyboards, whilst Craig Blundell provides a remarkable drumming masterclass to drive this impressive highlight of the album along… oh, and Mitchell throws in yet another short but golden guitar solo before we rejoin the thunderous refrain and heavy curtain of sound that introduced the song. If that’s not enough we then segue into the lighter, dreamy and appropriately shimmering False Lights, in which Blundell initially shows a much more subtle side on percussion, before it builds in intensity and then recedes in echoes. Symbolic, is rather insistent, perhaps lacking some of the subtlety and in my view somewhat interrupting the flow of the cinematic sweep of the latter half of the album, but it’s still a trademark Mitchell finely honed rock song… which is no bad thing!

In 2016 John Mitchell released under his own name an E.P. called ‘The Nostalgia Factory’, featuring four cover songs (which is well worth seeking out). ‘The Nostalgia Factory’ included a fine version of the Phil Collins song Take Me Home and it sounds as if The Divine Art of Being has distinct echoes of that great anthem… which is a good thing! John Mitchell certainly knows how to pen a song with great melody and choruses that resound around your brain like The Divine Art of Being, a song which also highlights the great quality of his voice, perfectly suited to his pitch and intonation.

The Big Dream feels like the finale of the album and projects us into spacey, epic Floydian territory, reminiscent of A Godless Sea on ‘Please Come Home’. The Big Dream is widescreen in nature with a wall of grandiose, cosmic keyboards echoing the intro of ‘Awakenings’ over which a wonderful high pitched guitar swoops eerily. This is spectacular stuff which feels like a film soundtrack. As this evocative track closes the philosopher returns with his spoken musings on death and sleep and then in a direct link back to ‘Please Come Home’ we hear the strangely heartbreaking lines:

‘Please Come Home Lonely Robot, Your Heart is Beautiful, Programmed to Receive, We Miss You now Lonely Robot, Ever so Beautiful’

After the drama of The Big Dream there is a sense of release and optimism as the coda song Hello World Goodbye is like musical sunlight breaking through the clouds. A piano plays a simple melody before Mitchell’s almost whispered soft vocals resonate with optimism, beautifully backed by Kim Seviour, and Mitchell pours a lovely soaring, rippling but subtle guitar solo over the conclusion. Epilogue (Sea Beams), with it’s title hinting at the tragic replicant Roy Batty from ‘Bladerunner’ (the ultimate Lonely Robot?) is a delicate ending, feeling like the end credits for a movie. The elegiac whistle like sounds underline the nautical but cosmic connection and underlines the emotion at the core of this remarkable album. John Mitchell has released a remarkable album which subtly conveys meaning and depth with accessible and finely written songs.

The juxtaposition of machine and emotion in the ‘Lonely Robot’ project is peculiarly touching, and one wonders if many of us lead similarly robotic, regimented lives, not knowing how to escape or truly express our inner feelings…

‘…That’s such a curious thought…’

Released 28th April 2017

Order ‘The Big Dream’ from InsideOut Music

Review – TILT – Hinterland – by Progradar

“Do not live in the shadow of the masters for ever. Learn to live in the light of your soul. Life deserves full expression.”
― Amit Ray

Robin Boult (guitars), David Stewart (drums, percussion) and Steve Vantsis (bass guitars, electric & acoustic guitars, keyboards, programming) have been in the shadow of a giant of the Progressive genre while recording, writing and touring with prog legend FISH over the years.

Now, with their new project TILT, it is time for them to come out, front and centre, and be the focus of attention. Steve, being responsible for most of the writing of the last two well received Fish albums, ‘13th Star’ and ‘Feast of Consequences’, also has definite pedigree as a songwriter.

Over 5 years in the making, ‘HINTERLAND’ is the long awaited debut album from the band and follows on from their acclaimed debut EP ‘Million Dollar Wound’. ‘HINTERLAND’ has over 60 minutes of new music and the three core members are augmented on this endeavour by guitarist Paul Humphreys and singer PJ Dourley.

TILT are also joined on this release by keyboard player John Beck (It Bites) and guitarist John Mitchell (Lonely Robot/Kino/Arena/It Bites) with John Mitchell also responsible for the final mix.

I got sent an early mp3 download of ‘HINTERLAND’ by Steve and have given the album many listens, it has now cemented itself as one of my favourite releases of the year and now I’ll tell you why…..

“Language taught, Instinct not

Society lost, Trauma is forced…”

The album is book-ended by two brooding and slow burning tracks that compliment each other. Opener _Assembly begins with some obscure static noise before a deliberate percussive beat, metronomic in its perfection, hypnotises you into the slow laid back feel of the song. It’s quite ominous and portentous as the tempo increases slightly, almost like a heartbeat in the background.

Here you get the first impression of PJ Dourley’s impressively distinct vocal as he delivers the gripping tale to an engrossed audience, keeping you on tenterhooks, that haunting percussion and keyboard sound covering everything in a layer of anticipation. The layered vocals are a nice touch with the more expressive voice overlaying a robotic stanza.

A dramatic guitar riff, urgent and dynamic, then takes over along with some forbidding sounding keyboards to leave you on the edge of your seat, bated of breath, wondering what’s coming next. The vocals take on a pleading manner…

Save me!

Before the track concludes in a rather prophetic manner, a really impressive opening to the album.

“Your eyes are filled with wanted dreams, The strangest shade of green, I’ve never seen before…”

Hinterland is a total rock-fest from start to finish, from the ‘in your face’ manic riff that the guitar beats you over the head with to the frenetically exciting drumming and the ever present stylish bass. Add in the elegant keyboards and PJ’s vibrant vocal and there isn’t much that can go wrong. This is a talented group of musicians who are at the top of their game and it shows.

There’s a super verse where things calm down a bit with a lovely guitar tone and ever more catchy vocals and you just find your self rocking along with this really upbeat song. We have a pause before that concussive riff returns with a slightly off-kilter piano note, just to make sure you’re taking notice and then we are off again, there is only one thing left to do, turn the volume up to 11!!

“Touch, don’t feel and know how this ended. It’s death but it’s not real, when truth is suspended…”

Time for a change of pace and lull in proceedings, Against The Rain is a superbly emotive song with the delicate piano and dreamy synth sounds backing the touching and affective vocal delivery. Almost dreamlike in delivery, it is a track that draws you into its warming embrace and heartfelt warmth and sentiment.

Reflective, it leads you pausing to gather your thoughts with its intelligent construction and demeanour. The gentle percussion and sympathetic guitar just add a lustre of sepia tinged nostalgia and, as it comes to a close, a feeling of compassion and well-being washes over you.

Talk about down and dirty riffs, the opening to No Superman hits you right in the solar plexus. A really low down and muted sound that then opens up and just nails it. Imagine taking some of the best 90’s grunge music and melding it with some modern prog metal and you wouldn’t be far off. The vocals have an edge to them and the drums are huge but it really is that monster riff that grabs my attention.

Deliciously dark and dangerous it is one of those tracks that leaves you feeling a little bit naughty but thoroughly entertained. PJ Dourley gives his best Scott Weiland impression (minus the illegal substances, obviously!) and seems to be really enjoying himself. Add in a little lull to let you get your breath back, rapidly followed by a hugely caustic, fiery riff and you really couldn’t ask for a more hard rocking track.

“Don’t look now, looking straight down, Reach for the sky, live or die..”

Even when you really like a whole album, there’s the one track that really grabs you and, for me, on this release it is Growing Colder. ‘HINTERLAND’ is a brilliant collection of songs but, for whatever reason, it is the slower, more brooding tracks that resonate with me most and the sombre and pensive opening to this song fits that brief perfectly. Wistful guitar, drums and keyboards lay the foundation for PJ’s melancholic vocal delivery, sad and downbeat and yet striking nevertheless.

There is a dolent tone running throughout with the supine, almost dreamy, rhythm almost lulling you into a hypnotic state. The build up to the hugely impassioned and affecting chorus is superb and I always find myself singing along at the top of my voice.

This is one of those tracks that you find yourself listening to three or four times in a row, it really is that good. The combination of the muted verse and stirring chorus really is something special and, as I listen to it again, it is making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. The closing out of the song with string effects is utterly poignant.

“You look at me like you’re hypnotised, just blindness left behind your eyes…”

A hard rock track with a progressive edge, Strontium Burning is another one with a slow burning opening that builds slowly before flaring up and powering away into the distance. A definitive guitar note and powerfully dynamic drums are the driving force behind this track, all held together by the unobtrusive bass line. There is a raw energy struck through the centre of this restless and impatient song that you can hear in the delivery of the vocals, an elemental force that is embodied in the compelling and dexterous guitar solo that dominates the end of the track.

“Bleeding, holding onto the edge of my luck, I’m breathing, Trying to get out of here but I’m stuck, My soul’s gone…”

Bloodline was the lead single from the album and, like the title track, is more akin to a hard rock track than progressive but still, at nine minutes long, there is still a whiff of Prog about it. A low-key and subdued undercurrent of an opening makes way for a determined guitar riff and rhythm section, urgent and straining at the leash before the throttle is notched back a bit and the vocals come in, searching and probing. I say it has more in common with hard rock but, here especially, there is a feel of early Porcupine Tree serious feeling heaviness.

There are some intricate melodies playing in the background but, when the powerful chorus fires out, that more mainstream rock angle returns. It is quite a clever mix of styles with some subdued, complicated sections weaving between the more straightforward rock themes and gives TILT there own definite sense of identity. There’s quite a long outro to the song, brooding and self-involved that sets you up for the final track on the album….

“Is there no God, There’s only me, I watch them pour from church, like warriors lost in battle…

Disassembly_, the partner track to _Assembly, opens with a very moody keyboard note that gives a hushed atmosphere of anticipation before there is a sort of awakening, a keening keyboard and guitar tone that is quite abstract in its mysterious feel, almost oriental in fact. That enigmatic aura is only enhanced by PJ’s vocal delivery, precise and esoteric, as he sings over a laid back, electronica inspired, backdrop.

Calm and collected, his voice is almost like a mantra that your mind follows though this delicate maze of ambient progressive music that seems to flow all around you. Guitars join in to add some substance but, all the while, keeping the mystical feel. This song always makes me stop what I’m doing to let the music wash over me and fill my entire being with a feeling of fulfillment and, as it comes to a close, I just feel relaxed and as calm as can be.

What TILT have delivered is a superb album by a cast of very accomplished musicians. Brilliant vocals, burning guitar solos, a thunderous rhythm section and songwriting of the highest quality combine to deliver one kick ass release that I keep returning to again and again. A fine combination of excellent rock music with all that’s best about progressive rock, these guys show how it really should be done!

Released 30th June 2016.

Buy the ‘Hinterland’ CD from Burning Shed

Buy digital copies of ‘Hinterland’ from bandcamp

Tilt to release new album ‘Hinterland’ on 30th June 2016

Over 5 years in the making, ‘HINTERLAND’ is the long awaited debut album from progressive rock band, TILT.

Following on from their acclaimed debut EP ‘Million Dollar Wound’, ‘HINTERLAND’ has over 60 minutes of new music.

TILT members Robin Boult, David Stewart and Steve Vantsis are all probably better known for recording, writing and touring with prog legend FISH over the years. Steve Vantsis was also responsible for most of the writing of the last two well received Fish albums, ‘13th Star’ and ‘Feast of Consequences’. They are augmented by guitarist Paul Humphreys and singer PJ Dourley.

TILT are joined on this release by keyboard player John Beck (It Bites) and guitarist John Mitchell (Lonely Robot/Kino/Arena/It Bites) with John Mitchell also responsible for the final mix.

‘HINTERLAND’ is exclusively distributed by Burning Shed and is available to pre-order now with an exclusive signed postcard by the band for initial orders at:

www.burningshed.com

The radio edit of ‘Bloodline’ can be bought or streamed at:

Tilt – ‘Bloodline’ – Radio Edit

www.tiltband.co.uk

Review – Frost* – Falling Satellites – by Progradar

“You can decorate absence however you want- but you’re still gonna feel what’s missing.”
― Siobhan Vivian

Bloody hell, I didn’t realise it has been 8 years since Frost*, the brainchild of seminal keyboard wizard Jem Godfrey, released their last album ‘Experiments In Mass Appeal’.

This was a band who I saw supporting Dream Theater in Leeds and, despite the fact I’d never heard of, or anything by, them, was utterly blown away by the combination of incredibly complex keyboards and fizzing guitars which, combined with impressive melodies, gave us the breath of fresh air that was the ‘Milliontown album in 2006, one that is still revered in hushed tones to this day.

My love of Dream Theater began to wane in earnest that evening but I have been waiting with bated breath for news of a new Frost* album.

So, to bide the time awaiting the new record I came up with imagined scenarios as to what Jem could have been up to in the intervening years (I know, I need to get out more).

Have any of you watched DC Comic’s The Flash? I bet a few of you have but, if not, a quick summary.

Uber genius Harrison Wells has his own particle accelerator (like you do) at his company Star Laboratories which goes into meltdown and causes a huge explosion. Some of those caught up in the blast end up with super powers, Meta-Humans, some good and some bad.

Now, imagine if our Jem was one of those caught in the fallout and his supercharged, manic energy came as a result of the Star Labs explosion? (still with me?, good!) and he has been kidnapped by some evil Bond villain and forced to sit in a room and churn out turgid mainstream hits for the last 8 years?

Enough to send you mad, you would agree? Not Mr Godfrey, upon his exciting escape, he set about writing the latest Frost* album ‘Falling Satellites’ and put all of his near 8 years in captivity into this latest bombastic musical extravaganza!

On ‘Falling Satellites’ Jem Godfrey is joined by long term collaborator John Mitchell (Lonely Robot/It Bites) on guitar and vocals plus Nathan King (Level 42) on bass and drummer Craig Blundell (Steven Wilson).

“This line-up has been in existence since 2010 and is now the longest version of Frost* that there’s ever been”, says Godfrey, “so it’s strange to think that this is the first time we’ve recorded an album together”.

There are 11 songs in total with the final 6 songs forming a 32 minute long suite called “Sunlight”. Within this collection of songs comes an unexpected guest appearance from none other than Grammy nominated guitar legend Joe Satriani.

As to the album’s theme… “It’s about chance and life. The astronomically unlikely chance of being conceived to start with and then surviving to old age”, Godfrey says, “the near impossible odds of the things that happen to you in life benefitting you rather than killing you are gigantic and yet it happens all the time. It’s about celebrating how extraordinarily rare the period of us being alive is and how we should take more time to appreciate it while we’re here. We’re a long time dead at either end of this brief little flicker.”

What were we going to get after eight years? opening number First Day is a short introductory track that has Frost* writ large all over it, reverential keyboards and hushed, breathy vocals given a real sense of anticipation before we get into the new music proper…. Numbers showcases the new high energy prog/pop style perfectly with a funky keyboard intro, full of energy and innovation. The harmonised vocals are excellent and you just find yourself toe-tapping madly to the addictive sound of crunchy guitars and Jem’s manic keyboard style. The fast paced guitar licks and solo add even more impulse to this high octane four minutes of near-perfect musical vivacity.

How do you incorporate dub-step into progressive pop music? I have no idea but Jem Godfrey obviously does! Towerblock begins in quiet, reverential fashion, all calm and collected before all hell breaks loose and a really dynamic and grungy keyboard takes over. To be honest I had no idea what to make of it at first but, do yourself a favour, just go with the flow and it soon starts to make addictive sense as it gets under your skin. Flowing, fluid and off the wall keyboards writhe around never quite letting your brain comprehend them and Jem’s fiercely protective vocal gives a serious edge. It really shouldn’t work but it does, gloriously, as you find yourself playing air keyboards and jumping up and down (what do you mean, you didn’t?). One of the most innovative and fresh tracks to hit progressive rock in many a year, I loved it, the utterly demented keyboard and drum frenzy that closes out the song is inspired.

The calm after the storm, Signs begins as a wistful and whimsical delight with carefully delivered vocals before opening up with a monster riff and some towering keys. The rhythm section of King and Blundell (new cop partnership anyone?) ably providing support. the track flows between these calm amd collected verses and the lofty and imposing chorus where the organ-like keyboards add a real note of veneration. A superbly crafted piece of songwriting with some punchy powerful riffs that showcase Mr Mitchell’s guitar prowess and an utterly compelling performance behind the kit from Craig Blundell. This song sees a more influential return to the expansive and charismatic soundscape well beloved of Frost* fans everywhere and brings a smile to my face. Oh you thing of infinite wonder and delight, Lights Out is a gorgeous little track that pulls at your very soul with its unclouded resplendence. The keyboards have an ethereal edge to them, Craig’s drumming is sublime and the vocals have a soft yearning feel underlying them. A touch of longing fills your soul and you drift away on a cloud of well-being, notably Frost* but with a new and stylish veneer. Belay that feeling of goodwill, the high-energy intro to Heartstrings takes no quarter and fills you with a feeling of expectation. That keyboard heavy sound returns and the instantly recognisable and harmonised chorus could only be Frost* at the height of their powers. Like a white water ride in a tumbling raft, the irrepressible dynamics of the song pull you along in their wake, an utterly willing victim of its charismatic persona. The final repeat of the chorus feels like an outpouring of emotion as the track closes out with a hook filled ending.

The whole album is full of superb tracks and this is only intensified with Closer To The Sun. Another fine exponent of the new found pop sensibilites it just feels right. The introduction is catchy, upbeat and utterly persuasive and has a feel of lazy summer days without a care in the world to it. The vocals are kept in the background and everything is expertly subdued before John Mitchell delivers another spellbinding guitar solo that squirrels through your mind, touching every sensory receptor before making way for Jem’s potent and progressive keyboards that tell a musical tale all of their own. Zone out these two musical maestros though and you can hear the notable chops that Nathan and Craig bring to the party. If the previous track was smoother than an otter’s pocket (thanks to Robin Armstrong for that gem) then (deep breath all) Raging Against The Dying Of The Light – Blues in 7/8 is as forceful as a tsunami. The thunderous opening is dominated by the evil sound of Jem’s keyboards, literally blowing everything out of their path. The vocals have a real dark edge to them, forceful and demanding and Craig really gives his kit a work out. The real star of this track though is the hugely demonstrative tone of the keys as they forge their own way, brooking no argument. The occasional lulls only seem to enforce the aggressive and potent intent of the rest of this red-blooded track, it’s like Frost* on something entirely illegal, it shouldn’t be allowed, just be glad it is! I do like a good instrumental from these boys and they really scaled the heights with Hyperventilate from ‘Milliontown’ so it was great to know that ‘Falling Satellites’ would feature it’s own. Nice Day For It….. is another great track, technically it’s not fully instrumental but you’ll forgive me that foible I’m sure, that just seems to flow perfectly from beginning to end, all the musicians working in perfect harmony to deliver a near flawless slice of melodic precision that is just bliss to the ears. It rises and falls superbly, the keyboards being the driving force once again, guitar adding the finishing touches and drum and bass playing the perfect wingmen.

Hypoventilate is a two minute wall of sound, a musical force of nature that blots out the Sun around it. An slow burning, brooding and intense musical experience that just knocks you over, leaving you senseless before the gentle persuasions of Last Day pick you up and get you back on your feet again. The tender, mellow piano matching the placid, if a little care-worn, vocals to close out ‘Falling Satellites’ in a nostalgic, sentimental, even slightly regretful, manner.

So, after an eight year hiatus Frost* have returned with a triumphant third album that ticks all the relevant boxes for this tired old music hack. Definitively Frost* and yet with a distinctive lustre and some rather inspired new sounds that give it even more depth. Instantly accessible but, also, with untold layers of sophistication, oh bugger, this musical year just keeps getting better and better!

Released 27th may 2016.

Pre-order ‘Falling Satellites’ from The Merch Desk

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