Frost Children – Hearth Room

Review Score:

A

January 18 / 2024

Frost Children’s Hearth Room was an album I regrettably missed in 2023. Since discovering it a few weeks ago, it’s 11 bubbly, smart indie pop tracks have weaseled their way into my playlists. From start to finish, Hearth Room delights and entertains.

This is not a typical offering from the sibling pair, who have really only been making music as Frost Children for a handful of years. If Hearth Room was your first exposure to the band, you would certainly be caught off guard by their previous album from just half a year before their most recent. The style they had made a name for themselves with was grading and harsh and direct (in a nice way, I suppose). Their music could be described as hyperpop. But like 100 gecs, Frost Children did not drown in the tsunami that was the hyperpop wave of the early 2020s. And smartly, their sound takes a hard left turn on Hearth Room.

Their hyperpop origins are still evident in moments. The bridge on “Stare At The Sun”, for example, contains a lively piano line you might find in their past work. Elements of the production contain familiar swells inventive and unusual synths. But all of this has been tamed and modified. The duo’s restraint is what makes Hearth Room so enticing. Their formerly maximalist style has been sharpened and honed to a fine point. What results is some of the most interesting and catchy indie pop I’ve heard in some time.

From the sugary sweet sound of “Birdsong” to the imaginative percussion on “Frost Park”, Frost Children manage to create a cohesive yet wide ranging collection of tunes here. No song is boring, which is a compliment to any project. “Not My Fault” is a early 2000s throwback that for some reason brings to mind “Just the Girl” by The Click Five. There’s a forgotten gem for you. The album concludes with “Offer My Love”, an instrumentally rich, modern pop lullaby of sorts. It isn’t just on the musical side that the band demonstrates their talent. “Bob Dylan” is a spoken word track about commercialization of modern art sung from the perspective of Bob Dylan getting progressively angrier about Jack Harlow. If that isn’t great, then I don’t know what is.

I don’t believe hyperpop is dead. Some will tell you that, but I don’t buy it. But say it is. Say hyperpop is like the short lived social video app Vine. If hyperpop is Vine, then consider Frost Children like the Danny Gonzalez and Drew Gooden of hyperpop. They’ll be alright in another genre. Maybe this is too convoluted. Either way, this is a great album.

Review Score:

A

Gubb wrote this review. You can’t get mad at Gubb.