EXPERIMENTS IN MASS APPEAL

"Experiments in Mass Appeal" is the 2nd full-length studio album by UK progressive rock act Frost*. The album was released in November 2008 by InsideOut. I wasn´t necessarily expecting a follow up album to "Milliontown (2006)", as I was under the impression that Frost* was a project more than an actual band, but as the lineup is more or less the same as the one that recorded the debut album (except for the new lead vocalist Declan Burke), I guess I was wrong in that assumption. In addition to bandleader/ keyboard player/ vocalist Jem Godfrey, Frost* consists of members from IQ, Arena, Kino...etc.

The music on the album is hook oriented progressive rock. Frost* very successfully combine hard rocking progressive rock (bordering metal at times) with clever pop melody hooks. The most pop oriented tracks like "Falling Down" and "Toys" come off a bit banale to me, while the more progressive tracks like the opening title track, "Welcome to Nowhere", "Pocket Sun" and "Dear Dead Days" are pretty impressive. The very pop oriented ballad type track "Saline" is a very well composed song and while it´s bordering sirupy, Frost* pull it off. The vocals and the vocal harmonies are pleasant and well sounding and the musicianship on the album is generally very impressive. But the professional sound production (clean, synth driven and powerful) and the way the songs are composed also deserve respect. "Experiments in Mass Appeal" is through and through a very professional sounding quality release. It´s up to debate if the pop elements are a bit too dominant, but I´m sure that´s an aquired taste. Personally I like Frost* the most when they rock out or play their progressive stuff.

Compared to "Milliontown" I find "Experiments in Mass Appeal" slightly less interesting, but I still have great respect for how well produced, well written and well played the album is. I´d say a 3.5 star rating is warranted. If Frost* were ever to make a fully progressive rock oriented album and skip a couple of the most banale pop elements, I think my interest in the band would increase significantly. They certainly have the right tools to succeed in a mission like that.