LIFE IN THE WIRES

Life in the Wires, like any great album, takes time to take up residence in your head and reveal all of its complexity and splendor. For me, this is the most consistently excellent Frost* album to date, and even makes a great case for being considered a classic in its genre. Time will tell. The compositions here all have Jem Godfrey's signature styles and themes to the fore, and this is no bad thing. The playing from start to finish is virtuoso, immaculate and thrilling to the extreme - the extended solos excised from Day and Age having spent the time fornicating and bearing exotic new creations. Most of the tracks purposefully take their time to explore and develop themes, and there is a willingness to leave space for musical exploration that is well served by the double album format. The concept of the album is quite interesting, albeit being the weakest link on an incredibly strong showing. Jem never has been the greatest lyricist, and in true Prog fashion there is nothing personal here, but it still manages to avoid being dull and tug on the old heartstrings from time to time. The pacing and track order of the album is nigh on perfect, driving towards the stunning crescendo of the final four tracks which are truly breathtaking individually and greater than the sum of their parts as a whole. Returning to the Milliontown ethos has seen Frost* deliver a classic that keeps improving and revealing more of itself with every listen. Invest some time in this, it will pay you back richly. Jem mentioned the possibility of this being the final Frost* release in a recent video - say it ain't so, boss! We need more of this exquisite, complex, deep music in this world.