FROSTLAKE - The Weight Of Clouds
Discus: Discus121CD
Jan Todd: vocals, voices, acoustic / electric 12-string guitars, E-bow, floor harp, cross strung harp, soprano lyre, jouhikko, alto tagelharpa, viola, e-violin, clarinet, melodica, Hulusi flutes, Idiopan, Korg MS 2000, midi keys, Korg Wave-drum, drum creations, percussion, electronics, field recordings; Terry Todd: acoustic-electric bass guitar; 12-string guitar.
Recorded, arranged and produced by frostlake at FrogPond Studio 2020-2021.
The set (the third release from frostlake) not only showcase Jan Todd’s haunting singing (often layered so that ghostly echoes and harmonies of her voice have the intensity of a choir) but also the wide repertoire of instruments that she uses to provide colour and context to her songs. Terry Todd, who co-wrote half of the songs of this set, is a sympathetic rhythm section with bass and 12-string guitar driving the emotional intensity of the songs. Having said that, it would be wrong to separate the duo into individual components because the flow and balance of the music depends so heavily on the understanding they have in their playing. As with any Discus release, trying to pigeon-hole this music into a single genre is foolish. There are hints of folk and traditional music, in the lyrics and the vocal phrasing; there are hints of electronica and ambient music, in the layers of sonic textures; there are hints of jazz, particularly in the bass lines and chord structures; and, at times, there is a song of folk-rock in the ways the percussion and drum patterns can drive the music (but much of this is tempered by, for me, a sense of indie music from the ‘80s, particularly on the opening track ‘The Ultimate Thrill’). The structure of the songs, and their ordering on the album, provide a sense of a journey, albeit one in which one travels on a ‘rainbow in curved air’ (to borrow the title from Terry Riley, who also sprang to mind when listening the subtly shifting rhythms in the pieces). I could continue listing genres and the ways in which these intertwine in the music here, but the key ingredient in all of the tunes is Jan Todd’s singing which stops you in your tracks and is the voice of someone who knows precisely how she can use her singing to speak directly to the listener.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
Discus: Discus121CD
Jan Todd: vocals, voices, acoustic / electric 12-string guitars, E-bow, floor harp, cross strung harp, soprano lyre, jouhikko, alto tagelharpa, viola, e-violin, clarinet, melodica, Hulusi flutes, Idiopan, Korg MS 2000, midi keys, Korg Wave-drum, drum creations, percussion, electronics, field recordings; Terry Todd: acoustic-electric bass guitar; 12-string guitar.
Recorded, arranged and produced by frostlake at FrogPond Studio 2020-2021.
The set (the third release from frostlake) not only showcase Jan Todd’s haunting singing (often layered so that ghostly echoes and harmonies of her voice have the intensity of a choir) but also the wide repertoire of instruments that she uses to provide colour and context to her songs. Terry Todd, who co-wrote half of the songs of this set, is a sympathetic rhythm section with bass and 12-string guitar driving the emotional intensity of the songs. Having said that, it would be wrong to separate the duo into individual components because the flow and balance of the music depends so heavily on the understanding they have in their playing. As with any Discus release, trying to pigeon-hole this music into a single genre is foolish. There are hints of folk and traditional music, in the lyrics and the vocal phrasing; there are hints of electronica and ambient music, in the layers of sonic textures; there are hints of jazz, particularly in the bass lines and chord structures; and, at times, there is a song of folk-rock in the ways the percussion and drum patterns can drive the music (but much of this is tempered by, for me, a sense of indie music from the ‘80s, particularly on the opening track ‘The Ultimate Thrill’). The structure of the songs, and their ordering on the album, provide a sense of a journey, albeit one in which one travels on a ‘rainbow in curved air’ (to borrow the title from Terry Riley, who also sprang to mind when listening the subtly shifting rhythms in the pieces). I could continue listing genres and the ways in which these intertwine in the music here, but the key ingredient in all of the tunes is Jan Todd’s singing which stops you in your tracks and is the voice of someone who knows precisely how she can use her singing to speak directly to the listener.
Reviewed by Chris Baber
