There’s a seeping, winterlike melancholy to the slender songs of It’s a Game (Drag City), the first album in four years from San Antonio native Edith Frost. Her music betrays a quiet sadness devoid of self-pity but full of heartache; she has hinted that upheaval in her personal life led to the long layoff. Frost, who has made her home in Chicago for years, sings with a pretty whisper of a voice, and a spare and spooky accompaniment perfectly complements the haunting melodies. Piano keys clatter as if dropped from above; guitars are amplified but muted. It’s all an organic affair, intimate, straightforward, and almost impossibly delicate. Only later do you realize how much her songs, and the mood they create, are impossible to shake.
