German cinematic rock band Frequency Drift return with Letters To Maro. The band around nucleus Nerissa Schwarz and Andreas Heck deliver 11 songs and 1 hour of music that showcase their many talents and broad musical influences.
However, first song Dear Maro, at least in my humble opinion, might throw some listeners off. While I understand the seduction of dramatising the word “Falling”, after many plays I am still not sure it works for me. Luckily the rest of the song makes up for that, especially the middle section with the cello. Overall, the band cut down the heavy guitars, leaving much more space to vibrant sound designs and intriguing arrangements that spark the imagination of the listener.
Take for instance next song Underground. The instrumental middle section of the song is testament to the resourceful approach. But many more songs bring together the wonderful singing and melodies and the clever use of studio techniques, keyboards and more traditional instruments.
The result is inspiring. Even with the depth of the material on offer, many songs will catch your ear with their melodies. Personal favourites are Electricity, Neon (one of the songs where the guitars come back a bit) or the stunning Nine.
An album that let’s you discover new things after repeated play, but still attracts on the first time you hear it, must be doing it right. Highly recommended!
