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"Frost seems to have erased the shortcomings of his previous productions, and with “Life in the Wires”, he delivers his best album to date."
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5/5
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“Every progressive band worth its salt should make a double album, right?” With these words, Frost* frontman Jem Godfrey introduces his latest offering, the copious 86-minute “Life in the Wires”. A return to the spirit of their first opus, “Milliontown”, and a renewed emphasis on solos are also on the agenda. Those who have followed the English band since its beginnings are divided: on the one hand, the desire to put melodies back into the songs is stimulating, but on the other, given the sometimes dense and muddled nature of some of their tracks (especially in their latest EPs), one might be worried about the length of an XXL LP...
Frost* have always been a divisive band, but here “Life in the Wires” could well reconcile everyone: based on a fairly banal concept (the struggle of an individual in a world ruled by an AI), the opus impresses with its fluidity, and the carefully studied transitions between tracks are no stranger to this. The production is enormous, in keeping with a well-established English tradition, and the technical skills of the musicians are unquestionable - the line-up is the same as on “Falling Satellites”. The band vary their sounds in a very dynamic register; keyboards and drums are very much to the fore, and on guitar, John Mitchell, far from Arena's very posed solos, shows off his excellent skills.
There's no real weak point in this album, perhaps the more consensual concluding 'Starting Fires'. From the excellent 'This House of Winter', which takes off from an anathemic base to soar on a magnificent guitar solo, to the more dynamic tracks that are excellently conducted ('The Solid State Orchestra', 'Evaporator', 'Propergander' and its haunting bass), with two calm pauses ('Strange World' and 'Absent friends') cleverly placed to calm the overheated atmosphere, “Life in the Wires” appears to be a model of construction for a double album.
Most of the tracks have an immediately appealing melodic foundation, but Frost* never takes the easy way out: 'Idiot Box' with its epileptic rhythmic pattern, or 'Moral And Consequence' with its jagged basic riff and carefully thought-out evolution, bear witness to their concern to maintain a solid progressive base with a modern sound, as does the second half of “Life in the Wires”, with its bluffing variety that doesn't make it easy to decipher, but is very stimulating to listen to!
Frost* seem to have succeeded in their gamble: by leaving the shores of over-produced music that sometimes sank into hermeticism, and by giving a predominant place to the melodic side, the English deliver their best album to date. An accomplished album, balanced in its variety.
- Official website
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TRACK LISTING:
01. Skywaving
02. Life in the Wires, Pt. - 1
 03. This House Of Winter
04. The Solid State Orchestra
05. Evaporator
06. Strange World
07. Idiot Box
08. Absent Friends
09. School (Introducing the All Seeing Eye)
10. Propergander
11. Sign of Life
12. Moral and Consequence
13. Life in the Wires, Pt. 2
14. Starting Fires
LINEUP:
Craig Blundell: Batterie
Jem Godfrey: Chant / Guitares / Claviers
John Mitchell: Chant / Guitares
Nathan King: Basse
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READERS
4.2/5 (6 view(s))
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STAFF:
4.3/5 (3 view(s))
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IN RELATION WITH FROST*
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