DAY AND AGE

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!

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