Back after a break of almost 20 years, Edith Frost returns with an atmospheric album of great songs.
Noted tunesmith Edith Frost describes her music as “pensive countrified psychedelia“. Throughout her career, Frost has never been what you’d call prolific; with a debut album release “Calling Over Time” in 1997, followed in 1998 by “Telescopic“, but then a three-year break until “Wonder Wonder” 2001, before a further gap of four years before 2005’s “It’s a Game” (November 2005). Now, approaching 20 years on from that most recent release, Frost is back with “In Space“. Why the break? Struggling with the anxieties of day-to-day living, Frost stepped away from public life and adopted a pretty low profile, but ultimately found herself feeling isolated. So, what has she been up to during the intervening years? Never far away from music, Frost has spent some time learning; she has returned with a different musical style and a change of perspective in her songwriting, now with a deep focus on emotional life, and she has become a keyboard player. She has also occasionally stuck her head above the parapet, including (in)famously being banned from Twitter in 2022, after she changed her username to ‘Elon Musk‘ and posted jokes; she subsequently explained that she’d become frustrated about Musk’s “man-baby antics”.
Although now resident in Austin, TX, following a number of years spent in Chicago, “In Space” is very much a record made in Chicago; recorded at The Loft in Chicago, aka Wilco’s Loft as it is that band’s studio and base, it has seen recordings by, amongst others, Mavis Staples, Hank Williams Jr., Norah Jones (and Jones’ band with Sasha Dobson and Catherine Popper; Puss n Boots), Beck and Richard Thompson. A number of Chicago-based musicians feature on “In Space“, notably Jim Becker (of Chicago band Califone), Sima Cunningham (of rock band Finom), Bill MacKay and Jeff Ragsdale. Also involved, as arrangers and joint producers, are Mark Greenberg (Studio Manager at Wilco’s Loft) and long-time Frost collaborator Rian Murphy.
The record’s initial impressions relate to its sparse arrangements, the soothing quality of Frost’s voice, and the intelligent use of harmony vocals; there’s a marked change of style between Frost’s previous releases and this one.
The LP starts with the slow ‘Another Year‘ which brings to mind (both musically and lyrically) David Bowie’s 1969 classic song ‘Space Oddity‘. The tone is set by keyboards and acoustic guitar, then Frost sings “Can you hear me? Can you hear me? If you can hear me, I’m so glad you made it home“. Next up is ‘Nothing Comes Around‘ in which Frost could be describing her time away from the limelight; “I say too much, I wait too long, I wait forever, And notice that it’s gone” then “Whatever happened to my world? I never let anything be heard“.
‘What a Drag‘ is a delicate song, featuring effective multi-tracked lead vocals and a great melody. While first single release from the album, ‘Hold On‘ is a standout cut; more uptempo than most of the album, “What’s with the man on the train, who stands with his hands in his pockets, And won’t even hold on to the rail?“.
‘Little Sign‘ has a definite 1960s vibe; it sounds like something that The Mamas and The Papas might have released. Frost again sounds like she has something to say; “Make up a little sign, To tell the world what’s happening“. ‘Time to Bloom‘ sounds quite different to anything else on the record, the musical accompaniment brings a feeling of foreboding and Frost saying “I can’t hide myself“. Then ‘I Still Love You‘ closes the album on what appears to be a lighter note; it has a hypnotic feel to it, as Frost repeats “I Still Love You“.
This is not an album that is likely to blow your socks off on first listen, but give it time and it will worm its way into your subconscious; there are enough great songs here to make this a welcome return for Frost. It will be interesting to see where (and when) we see further Frost output.
