GHOSTS

ProgArchives trips over itself to keep us from flippantly giving an album a 5 star rating. Often, I've heeded their warning and backed off. Not this time! Without hesitation I plowed on through, and with Spinal Tap aplomb wished there was a 6-star button available.

Frequency Drift's 2011 "Ghosts" release is truly a WONDERFUL album! While it is their 3rd published body of works, I confess it is my first exposure to the band. I was easily, easily won over.

I greatly enjoy female-fronted melodic prog/rock genre (Mostly Autumn, Iona, Karnataka, Magenta, etc.), so in featuring Antje Auer's perfect vocals, Frequency Drift delivers on that front very well. Musically, I'd like to refer to "Ghosts" is a collection of eight 'soundscapes'. As other reviewers have noted, there is a healthy dose of atmospherics here, often with wispy and ethereal textures that would sate the palette of any lover of ambient music-- checkout the track "Ringshine"! One of my favorite aspects of this CD is the tasteful inclusion of classical acoustic instruments. Piano, violin, and flute are not only featured, but are often foremost, and skillfully played.

But that's not to say the disc doesn't have any muscle. When FD kicks it up, you'll take notice -- powerful backbeats with soaring guitars and multi-instrumental polyphony embellish the songs throughout, as featured on the tracks "Sadness", "Tempest", and the closing to "Come" . For a real treat, sample the instrumental portion of "Mermaid" ~3:00 mark. Whoa! It will float you away on the waves easily at first, but soon plunge and spin you into a transcendent, dissonant cacophony that images so well the theme of the song. One of the most astounding musical moments I have come across in prog rock this year!

This is an album of transport-- I doubt it could be played as mere background music. The ebb and flow of the song structures, the beauty, the power, the emotion are riveting. To prepare yourself for this gem, don your favorite headphones, darken the room, and curl up in a cozy chair -- and get ready to ride off to another world.