Released
1999

Label
Velvet Empire Records

Reviewed by
Daniel Marvin

Contact
Frolic c/o Velvet Empire Records
P.O. Box 42188 Philadelphia, PA. 19101

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Last Edit/Update
18 June, 1999

Frolic

Permafrost

Track Listing

1. Seraphim Magnara
2. In Winter
3. Drift Away
4. Tonite
5. Essence of Violet
6. Siren
7. Fields of Green
8. Aqua
9. Father
10. Terrain
11. Reunion
12. Sea
13. Skin

    There's a place where there is nothing but a vast white terrain as far as one can see in all directions. Snow slowly falls to the crisp ground and there is a certain almost spiritual connection one is able to achieve. The flowing, chilled ambience, the angelic female vocals, the drifting guitars, and drowning electronics of Frolic recreate this majestic place through thirteen aural movements collectively known as "Permafrost." Some tracks drift along in a state of a hazy, wintry euphoria while others are more building with a number of female voices intertwining and bleeding into one another. Obvious comparisons would be Lycia's more recent work or some Love Spirals Downward, yet more electronic and more drifting.

    Of my personal favourites there's the track "Drift Away" which has a very light break - beat in the back which truly layered the song with a more urbanized, almost trip-hop feel which fit very well. Unfortunately there are two tracks in particular where I think the band really failed. The first is "Tonite" where it sounds like a whiny Christmas carol and the vocals are processed in a very annoying fashion. The second is "Sea" which has a far too urban, almost r&b feel. But, the thing is that outside of those two less than perfect tracks, this album has points which are pretty close to amazing for the ethereal sound connoiseur.