Archive for the tag "australia"

Edith Frost is the only woman that’s made it into the Drag City Songwriters Boy’s Club. Across the course of a couple eps and a couple albums, she’s shown herself to be a limber songsmith, her crooning cowgal odes simple little-ditties that are able to contour to different strands of sonic styling. After the Royal Trux duo of Adam & Eve (mis)handled production on the strange, shifting, stirring Telescopic, Frost hands over production duties to Drag City dude Rian Murphy for her latest outing, Wonder Wonder.

An ex-traditionalist who sought out ’30s country acts and ye olde country swing for her early covers bands, Edith Frost isn’t quite the timepiece you’d expect. Sure there’s a definite country tinge to this music, and the lo-fi, naive sound sometimes suits, but there’s not a lot of depth or technical skill.

A reputable indie label (Drag City) isn’t the only thing that Edith Frost shares with Palace’s Will Oldham. The singer/songwriter also delves deep into the soul for slow, beautiful country-blues based ballads which bend with, and shine for, all the weight of their introspection. Songs swirl gently into shape — massive hooks and novel refrains would prove unnecessary clutter here. Frost’s spare musical vision is executed with nothing on top but sensuous, eloquent lyrics. And her uniqueness lies in an ability to speak of a place that’s a little darker and deeper than the everyday, while still building her songs very much on the solid rock of the regular — on everyone’s experience of love, life and all the woes. (4 STARS)