Donna Frost

GIRLS LIKE US - RELEASE AND REVIEW

I must admit I didn’t quite know what I was in for when asked to listen to Indie artist Donna Frost’s latest CD. The ASCAPlus award winning songwriter didn’t disappoint.

Like a chameleon, her smooth vocals transition from track to track. She reminds one of an early nineties Mary Chapin-Carpenter, mixed in with some Heidi Newfield, and a little soul a la Janis Ian from Seventeen. But she never falls into the trap of letting the music overtake the musician. The instruments blend seamlessly with her words and her vocals. An added bonus is that each track is distinctive and different, no two sound alike. I had to refer to the case and look for liner notes to see what genre I was listening to, as the artist slips seamlessly from country to soul and back. (I never found a liner note that answered my question, by the way)

Frost takes on honky tonkin’ good times in tracks like “When Love Goes Bad”, and “Elvis in a Tollbooth”. The title cut, “Girls Like Us”, tackles the familiar theme of good girls liking bad boys, and while up tempo, remains uniquely Frost thanks to an understated musical arrangement and beautiful vocals.

Her voice shines brightly in the wistful “Anywhere Tonight”, but my must listen pick would have to be “Runaway Train”. This is one artist that I believe will be able to stay true to her indie roots no matter how mainstream her work becomes.

For more about Donna or to buy this CD, visit http://www.donnafrost.com/

Music News Nashville is designed, owned and published by

Girls like us

"Even when Donna Frost picks up her acoustic guitar, the point of view is that of a brass-in-pocket rock chick. Even when her country influences show, there's a rocker's grit and guts in her words and attitude. As the singer of the Bunnies, one of Nashville's first punk-rock bands, she burned a path for others to follow. "Girls Like Us," her new CD, proves she's still blazing a trail all her own", Michael McCall, Nashville Scene

"Like a chameleon, her smooth vocals transition from track to track. She reminds one of an early nineties Mary Chapin-Carpenter, mixed in with some Heidi Newfield, and a little soul a la Janis Ian from Seventeen. But she never falls into the trap of letting the music overtake the musician...This is one artist that I believe will be able to stay true to her indie roots no matter how mainstream her work becomes" by Jenny Delamotte, Music News Nashville

Available now online at www.spatrecords.net

GIRLS LIKE US

Donna Frost
GIRLS LIKE US
©2009 Spat Records
Review by Lucky Boyd

Sometimes songwriters are so busy writing a lyric that they forget to wrap it in a good tune. Not so with Donna Frost. Each lyrically sound cut is enveloped in a well-acted scene of musical imagery. A folky edge with a bluesy overtone and a country passion, this diverse disc is a musical résumé for this talented Texan. Frost approaches the disc in a straight forward manner, performing each track to the fullest. The best track is “Jacksonville” which is already garnering some regional support. The best written track is “Anywhere Tonight” which has a good formula progression, nice movement, and is lyrically poignant. But, this reviewer’s favorite is “Payin’ To Play,” a Bonnie Raitt –meets- Janis Ian blues rocker that chronicles a dark painful side of being in this business. The album is put together well and has some great pickers, but the bet is that Donna Frost is a great live act. If she can harness the energy from this album and blast it from stage, you’re going to hear big things from her for a long time. This disc spent an extra hour in my player, and that’s rare. Donna mentions in her liner notes that putting this album together was one of the great experiences of her life. It shows, but let’s remind Donna that an even better experience is releasing your fourth or fifth album while on tour somewhere in Texas, being sought out for sold out appearances night after night, all brought on by the strength of a great first album and a great single; and knowing that tonight’s show will be with the same band you’ve had for nine years, and that crowds love you, and you have sort of a manic peace. Yeah, that’s pretty good, too.

Stats: 13 tracks, four written by Frost, 9 co-writes with Beth Travers; produced by Frost with Travers and Dave Signs; additional production by Ellis Clark; appearances by Jeff Allen, Gary Brotherman, John Heinrich, Fred Satterfield, Ellis Clark, Mark Harrison, along with Frost, Travers, and Signs; 4/2/4 insert with liner notes; 1 color screen disc, replicated; running time: approx 53 minutes.

Reviews

Donna Frost
05/23/2008

Concert Review by Chris A

It’s a bit after 8 pm and I’m running behind. I’m on the way to Taffy’s to check out an artist making her debut performance in the Eaton music landmark. Her name is Donna Frost and she’s an acoustic player with a pretty impressive resume. As I walk in the door there’s Donna already behind the mic belting out a bluesy one-four-five country ditty called “Ain’t It A Shame.” A native of Nashville, Donna Frost is the real deal. She’s paid her dues, working as a busker playing for tips on the sidewalk in front of Nashville’s “Elvis” museum. In 1999 she divorced and made the decision to try to make her living as a musician. As she mentioned during her Taffy’s performance, without the husband she had fewer expenses. So she did it. She quit her job and pursued her passion by taking a leap of faith and jumping into the very competitive Nashville music scene. It paid off as a few years later she would find herself routinely performing on stage at the Grand Ole Opry working with her friend Skeeter Davis. With two albums under her belt Donna’s established a loyal following in Nashville but she’s not just a Tennessee girl. She’s gigged the music circuit in most of the major American cities. She’s also crossed the big pond and demonstrated her chops to audiences in London. I mentioned an impressive resume? Drop on by her website and you’ll discover this is one talented and hard working performer. Her new CD “Feels Like Home” is making an impact in countries around the world with several top 25 tunes and one of her songs pegging out at number one in Australia. In addition to music she’s an actor who’s currently playing the role of Janis Joplin. Diverse in her music and very professional in her presentation, she’s clearly fond of telling stories relying on her voice and her guitar talent to convey assorted messages of love, loss, life and hope. She’s a cool performer and absolutely worth checking out the next time she’s in town or when you’re in Nashtown. Visit her website at www.donnafrost.com