English progressive rock collective Frost* was formed in 2015 by Jem Godfrey, notable for his work writing and producing pop hits for the likes of Atomic Kitten, Ronan Keating and Samantha Mumba to list a few. Frustrated by pop's intransigent boundaries, he formed Frost* to pen music from his prog rock past. After pinching a line up from members of other prog acts IQ, Kino and Arena, Frost* expulsed their debut 'Milliontown' in 2006 before throwing in the towel the same year. 2008 saw the band reunite armed with sophomore effort 'Experiments in Mass Appeal' only to arrive at an indefinite hiatus in 2011 as Godfrey was experiencing poor health related to running the band. However later the same year, he reactivated the prog juggernaut and this year saw third release 'Falling Satellites' come out – their first album in eight years. On top of this, tonight's London date on this UK tour is sold out.
Tonight's support is Twats in Hats, namely Jem Godrey on keyboards and Frost* guitarist John Mitchell with both handling vocal duties. Immediately the duo set the tone of the evening – forcefully light-hearted with the audience breathing laughter. Contrary to the polished perfect image of prog, the two musicians indulge in an abundance of humorous banter, panto-style entertainment and boldly highlight mistakes in their performance.
The songs themselves are stripped down selections from Kino, It Bites (two of Mitchell's previous bands) and Frost*, all contemporary prog bands with a heavy dose of pop sensibility. Kino's sickly saccharine 'Letting Go' begins the proceedings but the Frost* selection 'The Forget You Song' is clean, modern and contains bursts of frantic energy that animates the audience more. New Frost* ballad 'Lights Out' appears alongside It Bites' 'The Tall Ships', the more sombre mood of these tracks drastically contrasting with the on stage tomfoolery. Closer is 'Loser's Day Parade' by Kino, which elicits a robust response from the crowd with some punters singing along. It is refreshing to see a band this relaxed with themselves and the audience is wholly in good spirits.
'Last Day' is the first song performed tonight by the entire line-up of prog rockers Frost*. This segues into the upbeat 'Numbers' with layered vocals and playful instrumentation. The quartet's music is keenly keyboard-focused and incorporates a heady amount of pop and melodic rock alongside the prog to create textured, ambitious yet fragile songs. As with Twats in Hats, there is a bountiful amount of humour on stage between songs. Tonight is Frost*'s Christmas show as it is easier to do such a show now and not have to worry about fighting over booking a venue in December. Throughout the night, snippets of Christmas carols seep into the set and a Father Christmas hat even makes it to the stage.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, all six songs that comprise the 'Sunlight Suite' from new album 'Falling Satellite' is played in its entirety. The music is jam packed with varying textures and moods that illustrate the dreamy, dramatic yet sensitive contents of prog rock that is omitted by the genre's vocal detractors. The modern rock of 'Closer to the Sun', the meandering 'The Raging Against the Dying of the Light Blues in 7/8' and piano ballad 'Last Day' successfully convey an earnestness seldom heard in music.
Following 'Last Day', the prog rockers vacate the stage and return for their encore wearing light-up gloves to contribute to the Christmas mood. 'Black Light Machine' from the highly lauded debut 'Milliontown' is aired out with some outstanding heart-felt guitar work from Mitchell. The last song of the night is the infectious 'The Other Me'. Bisecting this song, Godfrey informs the crowd that he has to introduce the band twice as he forgot to do so last night in Bristol. However on the second introduction, the audience must remain silent to evoke memories of playing in their first bands as teenagers. In fact, bassist Nathan King receives applause on his second introduction while Mitchell and drummer Craig Blundell are unfairly met with boos. The song is finished and Frost* leave the stage to a rapturous reaction from the sold out venue.
It is tremendously refreshing to see a band enjoy themselves so much on stage, laugh at their mistakes and engage and encourage the audience's heckles with grins on their lips. This youthful attitude encircles the show as not just a musical performance but a comic one and, given the dreary times humans inhabit, that cannot be too bad.
FUTURE GIGS
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