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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Melodious "Melodica", May 6, 2004
With an album name like "Melodica," the Norwegian electronica band Frost has given itself a lot to live up to. And amazingly, it does live up to its title. Cool, sweet and sensuous, this is a collection of trip-hop laced with angelic vocals. It's definitely "melodica."Starting off with the plaintive, sweeping "Pharmacy," Frost bounces off into a series of shimmery dance music (the sultry "Alphabet," bouncy "Sink," and blipping "Amygdala") and sweeping trip-hop ballads (the echoing "Half-Whole," the gentle "Duo") and the occasional mix of both (the mind-blowing dancepop "Magika"). Finally rounding it off is a remix of "Endless Love," and two of "Amygdala" (one too synthesized and poppy, the other sweet and soft). Frost proves that good trip-hop comes from Norway as well as Iceland. The effect of listening to "Melodica" is like looking at a snow-covered forest in the sunshine -- it's beautiful, both chilly and warm and thoroughly beautiful. Despite being rooted in eighties dreampop, the sound of Frost is un-dated, and entirely its own. Aggie Peterson slips effortlessly into the slot beside Emiliana Torrini as a trip-hop chanteuse. Her voice is sweet, and sometimes sultry, switching in tone from song to song (such as the angelic echoes in "Half Whole"). When the music chills you, her ethereal vocals warm you. Except for some nu-jazz trumpeting and vague drumming (and what sounds a little like an organ), most of the music is made up of electobeeps and sonic sweeps. Frost's ethereal "Melodica" sounds like the Cocteau Twins did a bunch of Portishead covers, starring Peterson's chilly vocal allure. A uniformly lovely experience, and a truly unique sound.
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