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Frostlake — Shattered Stone
(Discus Music 200CD, 2025, CD / DL)

by Peter Thelen, Published 2025-11-09

Shattered Stone Cover art

Ten years back, Frostlake was singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Jan Todd, supported by her partner Terry Todd and a carousel of guest players on the debut album White Moon, Black Moon; among those many guests was keyboard player Andy Peake. Ice & Bone followed in 2019, with Jan Todd playing nearly all the instruments (and a long list it was), supported by Terry Todd on bass, while 2021 brought The Weight of Clouds, again with Jan Todd singing and playing an even longer list of instruments, with Terry Todd playing acoustic and electric bass and twelve string guitar. Now we finally have a new album, Shattered Stone, and Andy Peake has rejoined on piano and organ, now making Frostlake officially a trio. So while each of the albums has a slightly different character, Shattered Stone could best be described as gentle, folky, and beautiful, but occasionally melancholic songcraft, embellished in modern and ancient instrumentation — though in contrast to the general shaded mood, the lyrics seem to be very upbeat and positive. The songwriting this time out is either Jan by herself or shared with various combinations of the others. She sings, plays acoustic and electric guitars, cello, electric harp, baritone psaltery, waterphone, guzheng, kalimba, halusi flute, noisebox, Korg Wavedrum, midi keys, software instruments, metal percussion, electronics, drum samples and field recordings; that’s a slightly different list from the previous album, but in the context of the eleven tracks on offer, nonetheless very effective, serving the songs well. Her voice is at times, very ethereal, magical, breathy, and even gothic, but tirelessly beautiful. Opener “The Breath” with piano, bass, and hand drums supporting, is probably as close as we get to a jazzy sound here, while the closer “Wheels Roll On” draws on a dreamy folk style with poweful undercurrents. Between those bookends there are plenty of standout tracks: “Behind Closed Eyes” drifts along gracefully with splendid harmonized voices, while “Rise & Fall” moves in gently, the backing cello having a major impact on the proceedings; gentle and upbeat, “Mirror” pushes along with dreamy persistence, while “Jigsaw” seems to find its roots in ancient folk music. Every song here offers a unique experience, and all can be sampled at the link below. One might want to check out the earlier Frostlake albums as well, as all four are outstanding.

Filed under: New releases, 2025 releases

Related artist(s): Frostlake / Jan Todd

More info
http://discusmusic.bandcamp.com/album/shattered-stone-200cd-2025

 

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