Most people, I imagine, tend to associate the word “ambient” with a form of soulless pretentiousness that only high-brow music snobs are able to relate to. It’s the sort of fad that fills gallery and performance spaces, kind of like elevator music for the erudite—it is “curated”, “acquired”, and all sorts of things that the more generic music aficionado simply couldn’t dream of understanding. The Australian-born/Iceland-based Ben Frost is one musician who fills said spaces, but on the contrary, manages to denounce such notions.
Sitting somewhere between classical composer Arvo Pärt and Nine Inch Nails, Frost willfully crosses genres, often defying classification with his sophomore release, By the Throat. As the title suggests, Frost’s aural creations are assaultive, boasting an intense musicality that is beguiling, if at times a little invasive. This isn’t something to play before bed. Rather, it’s the soundtrack to an eerie thriller, or horror—puncturing one’s synapses, it will have you sneaking paranoid peeks over your shoulder, well after the music has stopped.
PopMatters 2010
-Omar Kholeif
