I made acquaintance with the music of this Australian (now living in Iceland) Ben Frost through this very album. And at once I started searching in the Internet for the reviews of this CD. But I smothered this impulse as the comments of other people can be an obstacle for experiencing my own inimitable impressions from the music which attracted me by its unusual and even in some way odd refinement just from the very beginning.For achieving musical aims Ben Frost uses guitar and cascades of various effects, in such a way he gains nontrivial, interesting sounding, forms some kind of minimalist emotional chain of sounds. The music becomes living, it has its own character and mood. At the beginning of the intro part Theory Of Machines you may experience warm feeling, thus the denouement is filled up with very powerful sound stream and aggression. In general each track is very solid in the way of mood, action, soundfulness...
"Stomp" starts as if with greetings to the fans of raster-noton label, tactfuly breaking the silence with calm but very deep-sounding bass-drum and splashes of hushing noises, then it collapses with apocalyptic stream of guitar noise, blowing off everything on its way, then calms up for a moment to finish up with the same loud trash-ending.
With the help of track "We Love You Michael Gira" Frost apparently expresses his gratitude and respect to American writer and musician Michael Gira, the sample of one his song was used in "Stomp". These tracks are a little bit alike - rather silent starting spreading anxiety and uncertainty, trash denounement, so dirty and sharp that for an uneducated listener it can knock out any desire to get acquainted with the works of this musician in future. Further we hear short issue ("Coda") with drums alive, ragged and hysterical guitar and powerful bass-section longing to press the listener to the ground - true industrial rock.
Due to its vagueness, this interesting and intriguing album's episode sounds like peculiar energetic charge leading to the final track "Forgetting You Is Like Breathing Water" - deep thoughtful sound line blooming later with wonderful ending. It is mellowed with wind stringed instruments reminding us that the world is still ruled by people, not by machines.
- Ben Frost
- Bedroom Community