FREQUENCY DRIFT

Epic soundtracks, no less.

The word ‘cinematic’ could have been invented for Frequency Drift’s grandiose epics. Films were a major motivation when keyboardist Andreas Hack formed the band and set 2008’s Personal Effects Pt. 1 concept debut in a dystopian Blade Runner future. After its inevitable sequel, 2011’s Ghosts… welcomed Nerissa Schwarz’s electric harp, giving the band its most distinctive sonic component. Over the next two albums, the band arrived at their trademark sound: widescreen ballads peppered with world music, folk, ambient and prog metal bombast. Their latest replaces earthly guitars with twinkling electric harp flurries, drummer Wolfgang Ostermann’s subtly woven rhythms, and electronic orchestras influenced by Japanese arthouse cinema. They frame new vocalist Irini Alexia’s soul-baring lyrics about loss. On first listen, ballads such as Underground, Deprivation and Escalator seem tailored for closing credits. The instrumental sections are always sumptuously exotic, but further immersion reveals a hotbed of intricate tonal microsurgery going on, before the triumphant-sounding Ghosts When It Rains brings down the curtain. KN