Jack Frost

• Jack Frost [Arista, 1991]
• Snow Job [Beggars Banquet, 1996] B+

Consumer Guide Reviews:

Jack Frost [Arista, 1991]
"Thought That I Was Over You"; "Didn't Know Where I Was"

Snow Job [Beggars Banquet, 1996]
It's 1993. Grant McLennan of the much-mourned Go-Betweens meets Steve Kilbey of the barely-missed Church for a second one-off, written and recorded on the spot and then stuck in a box until they find time to finalize it, which takes years. The songs evoke romantic moods and vague experiences rather than nailing the literal-cum-ineffable; the music strives for effect rather than detail or even ambience. By McLennan's standards, it's hokey, mysterioso, fulla keybs. Yet its schlock disposability and glam brio generate the crass charm McLennan's class act too often avoids. Too bad only cultists will care--and worse still that they'll probably reject it on principle. B+