The Frozen Autumn
The Fellow Traveller

This morning when driving on the frozen autumn roads I found myself listening to the Italian synth duo The Frozen Autumn thinking that it was a rather suitable band to listen to when the first larger snowfall of the fall had arrived. The duo has been around for a while and now they are coming with a new album, one that has me thinking of the classic synthpop band Depeche Mode. It is not only the sound that has me thinking of that; they kind of look the part as well. The booklet to the CD is nice and the album is a rather good one, offering songs that work pretty well even though I have to say that on balance I am not fantastically impressed.

I have seen several descriptions both in the press sheet and other places when researching, Darkwave, Frozen Wave, Gothic, Synthpop, Synth, Electro-Wave are all different ways to describe the same duo and they are probably all true in some manner. The duo, a guy and a girl both sing and play the synthesizers when creating the music that they do. I think the girl has a more fitting voice and generally does better than the guy and that Depeche Mode has to be a strong influence.

Eleven tracks are on offer, and they play for quite a long time making this album feel a bit on the long side. It could have been more varied and a bit more dynamic with a bit more depth making it a more fascinating musical adventure. It feels a tad predictable and while it was fitting for this morning it isn’t really an album that catches my attention. I like it, it is good but it is not great. The second track White on White is the best, it may be somewhat great and enjoyable but overall it is a bit too nostalgic for my taste. I think that fans of the synthpop, electro or whatever you want to call it will enjoy this album, those of us looking for something more new and fresh might not get the same pleasure out of listening to this album and as the journey home went through melting snow it was difficult to muster up that much appreciation for the album.

Fitting for the frozen autumn morning when the snow falls and winter is knocking on the door. It is an album that starts out really good to then slowly looses its appeal as the minutes tick by and in the end we are left with an album that isn’t overly memorable and leaves a small feeling of nostalgia rather than anything else. It is a pretty good album that doesn’t quite leave a lasting impression on me but White on White is a very good track.

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