Review: Pink Frost ‘Until The Summer Comes’
Usually, by the time you’re six albums into a career, to make any huge departures from what you’re doing is pretty unlikely. By that time, you have honed your sound and should know where you are heading on your sonic journey. For some bands, this seems to be a plateau they are content to sit on, while for others, the need to evolve, yet maintain everything that keeps you uniquely you, is of utmost importance.
Well, Pink Frost are one of those bands. Throughout their existence, they have been evolving, and adapting with each new release, without losing the sense of who they are. So, their newest release Until The Summer Comes, while no dramatic departure, is another step forward for the band too.
Easily accessible for the masses, yet also for more of an elite following, Pink Frost have, again, released something truly memorable. Just to throw this out there early on, while making my notes and doing research for this review, I was reading from a couple of different sources, about a comparison, or parallel with The Smashing Pumpkins. I found this a little weird, as I personally would aim squarely at Jane’s Addiction, but with an air of The Pumpkins too. But each to their own I guess
Anyway, let’s talk albums…
Until The Summer Comes can be quite euphoric at times. It’s heavy but is a really spirited, positive album. Each member of the band brings something wonderful to the table, and the ensuing result is nothing short of uplifting. There isn’t really any point on the album where it drops off, and is not at all saddening, even at its most intense moments.
It’s an album which reminds me that not everything has to be dark and broody, sometimes we all need some kick ass high octane rock and roll, designed to pull the sun through the clouds. That isn’t to say that its all sunshine and fairy tales, quite the opposite to be fair. The subject matter can be incredibly gritty, and its soundtrack can also match the mood.
When I came to this album, I had certain expectations. I had it in my head that it may well be an evolved, mature, grunge-y Seattle sound. On that, I truly believe I have been rewarded. What I take from the album is what we should be expecting as a true reflection of where grunge needed to grow and move on to. It’s angsty, and alternative, but is also a matured sound, which isn’t cheapened by wanting to be a twenty first century version of the nineties sounds.
if the nineties alt-rock and grunge scene was a bit of you, and you are longing for something evolved from those sounds, Pink Frost is the one for you…
Here we have a sound, that all of us old enough to remember the height of grunge, can latch on to, and embrace for all its grown-up emotion. it’s a heartfelt love letter to all of us who survived that era.
Admittedly, when album opener Until The Summer Comes came in, after much brain searching, I drew a massive parallel to the riffs, and the track Sour Cherry by The Kills. This, in my naive belief, was a hope for the album to continue down this path, but it wasn’t meant to be. It’s fine though, as it would have been a shame to have it go off down this path, instead, Pink Frost took a heavenly path that they carved out for themselves.
Tracks such as Halo present a darker, more pensive side to the band. There are some shoegaze sensibilities in the mix, maybe even The Pixies, dare I say it, and this makes for a nice parallel in sound and composition. On The Way Down takes me off on a different tangent, before The Skink pulls me around to those Jane’s Addiction vibes. The feel of the pacey, alt-rock sound, has me aiming toward those trademark Jane’s Addiction parallels.
This continues throughout the album, and while each track sounds easily identifiable as Pink Frost, the subtle little nuances tug things up and down ever so slightly each time. By the time the closing track Feed The Hungry Bee rolls round, it all ends with a flourish of noise, leaving me utterly satisfied, and ready to go again.
So, to summarise, if the nineties alt-rock and grunge scene was a bit of you, and you are longing for something evolved from those sounds, Pink Frost is the one for you. If you want screeching death metal, you will be out of luck, but you can take comfort in the fact that when those feelings subside, Pink Frost will be here to pick you up again and make you feel infinitely better.
Label: Under Road Records
Band Links: Official | Facebook | Bandcamp | Twitter | Instagram
Scribed by: Lee Beamish
