Corey Isenor – Frost
self-released 2010
[tags: folk, indie folk, indie pop folk, 2010]
Listen while reading:
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This post should have been written some days earlier and by now you maybe know Corey Isenor (hailing from Sackville/Canada) already, because both Herohill and Slowcoustic did great articles on Frost in the past. Nevertheless I’m happy that Corey contacted me too and sent over a copy of his album, for it surely is one that will entertain you for a long time if you’re in the mood for some heart-warming indie folk. And I think my timing isn’t that bad, because everything got snowed up again in my neighborhood few hours ago (just after all the snow melted away…) Frost, again and again.
With his current effort, Corey Isenor proved that he got not only talent for raising award-winning chickens (which he did) but also for writing songs and singing and for playing the guitar. The album comes along with 10 tunes of bitter-sweet ear-candy, mixing folk, pop and indie elements in a fresh, but still modest way – the perfect blend of indie pop forwardness and folky intimacy. The indie pop elements are a result of the faster tempo of some songs (e.g. the title track) or the distorted e-guitar that accompanies its lovely acoustic pal (e.g. Meteor Shower). Here and there even synthesizers can be heard, but they are placed with care and don’t disturb the overall organic feeling. What I really like are the drums, because they do a great job and add a nice rhythm to all the tracks without being too intrusive – just the right balance (and this seems to be not so easy at all, because I often dislike the drum play alot on many other records).
The tracks are really good over the whole time and there are clearly no fillers (to the contrary, Corey even left out two track which Shotgun Jimmy (the man with the studio where Frost was recorded and also the man on the drums) wanted him to share on the album. So I think what you get is nothing else but the essence of the very best. (Even though the info sheet seems to suggest that the missing two tracks will be released later, because it says there, that they are held back as secrets “for now at least”. Maybe he’s planning to release a single in the future? We’ll find out!) Back to topic: I really fell in love with the tracks Baby, Don’t Go and As A Ghost. Both are relatively slow songs without much experimenting, but the atmosphere they create is just wonderful. Baby, Don’t Go feels as if it is somehow shuffling, it seems to sway to and fro without really moving and Corey’s voice is the only thing that forwards it. As A Ghost is completely different, but still extremely fascinating, for it got a haunting (ghostly?) touch to it (maybe coming from the banjo melody (if it is a banjo…)). Anyways, it is just great and clearly one of my ten favorite tracks from the album.
Those two examples should have shown that every track on Frost is somehow unique, every track seems to fit in, but still got its own character – and this seems to be quite natural, because the songs were written during a very long period of time before they finally found their way to the release that unifies them forever. Just give a close listen and you’ll discover many moments you want to enjoy again and again. But still: you mustn’t forget that this is not your typical acoustic folk release, because it isn’t acoustic. There is some very hard and distorted e-guitar (e.g. the end of Born to Belong) and you will find synthesizers here and there too (first of all in the opener Riverwoman, but also in The Weather). Frost is a first class indie folk album, but no acoustic folk. With this in mind, you should now head over to Corey Isenor’s MySpace site and write him a message or an e-mail and tell him, that you want to buy a copy of his album. If you’re interested in the MP3s, you can buy them via iTunes too. You won’t regret it – and “don’t worry if this music melts your heart a little, it is supposed to.”
