First Light's Freeze
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2025}}
{{Infobox album
| name = First Light's Freeze
| type = studio
| artist = Castanets
| cover = Firstlightsfreeze.jpg
| alt =
| recorded =
| venue =
| studio =
| genre = Psychedelic folk
| length = 33:25
| label = Asthmatic Kitty
| producer =
| prev_title = Cathedral
| prev_year = 2004
| next_title = In The Vines
| next_year = 2007
}}
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = Allmusic
|rev2=Pitchfork Media|rev2Score= (7.7/10)
|rev3=Popmatters|rev3Score= (7/10)
|rev4=Tiny Mix Tapes|rev4Score= (3.5/5)
|rev5=Prefix Magazine|rev5Score= (5/10)
}}
First Light's Freeze is an album by Castanets, released on October 11, 2005.{{Cite web|title = Castanets - First Light's Freeze|url = http://www.discogs.com/Castanets-First-Lights-Freeze/master/33164|website = Discogs|access-date = 2015-08-07}} Ray Raposa described the recording of the album as 'on some the interludes between tracks we had like seven people on them so that is half of the credits right there. But most of the tracks are Rafter [Roberts], Sufjan [Stevens] and I doing lots of overdubs'.{{Cite web|title = Castanets|url = http://www.lefthip.com/interviews/castanets-castanets|date = November 1, 2005|website = lefthip.com|last = Ellis-Brown|first = Nathan|publisher = Left Hip Magazine}} The album features contributions by Chris Schlarb and Daniel Carter.
Critical acclaim
Brian Howe from pitchforkmedia.com described the album as ' stringing together disembodied fragments of gothic Americana with brief, freaky interludes',{{Cite web|title = Castanets: First Light's Freeze|url = http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1775-first-lights-freeze/|access-date = 2015-08-11|date = October 9, 2005|website = pitchforkmedia.com|publisher = Pitchfork Media Inc.|first = Brian|last = Howe}} while Heather Pares finds the themes of 'war and friendship' expressed through 'sparkling nighttime laments'.{{Cite web|title = First Light's Freeze - Castanets|url = http://www.allmusic.com/album/first-lights-freeze-mw0000404716|website = AllMusic|access-date = 2015-08-11|publisher = All Music Inc.|first = Heather|last = Phares}} David Bernard in popmatters.com found the album 'consistently captivating' while 'many tracks hum with electronics and crawl along at a codeine pace'.{{Cite web|title = Castanets: First Light's Freeze|url = http://www.popmatters.com/review/castanets-firstlights/|date = October 11, 2005|website = popmatters.com|last = Bernard|first = David|publisher = Popmatters Media Inc.}} Grigsby of tinymixtapes.com praised Raposa's writing as '[his] strength might lie in melancholy pop songs, and at that, he might be peerless'.{{Cite web|title = Music Review: Castanets - First Light's Freeze|url = http://www.tinymixtapes.com/music-review/castanets-first-lights-freeze|access-date = 2015-08-12|date = December 14, 2006|website = tinymixtapes.com|publisher = Tiny Mix Tapes|last = Grigsby|first = (music editor)}} Matthew Ozga of prefixmag was less impressed calling the album 'a real snooze musically' while characterising Raposa as a 'relentless obscurantist'.{{Cite web|title = Album Review: Castanets - First Light's Freeze|url = http://www.prefixmag.com/reviews/castanets/first-lights-freeze/14690/|website = prefixmag.com|publisher = Prefix|first = Matthew|last = Ozga|date = March 6, 2006}} In December 2005, American webzine Somewhere Cold ranked First Light's Freeze No. 7 on their 2005 Somewhere Cold Awards Hall of Fame list.{{Cite web|last=Lamoreaux|first=Jason T.|date=December 1, 2005|title=Somewhere Cold Awards 2005|url=https://somewherecold.net/2005/12/01/swc-awards-2005/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200930034224/https://somewherecold.net/2005/12/01/swc-awards-2005/|archive-date=September 30, 2020|access-date=September 30, 2005|website=Somewhere Cold|language=en-US}}
Track listing
{{track listing
| all_writing = Raymond Raposa
| title1 = (The Waves Are Rolling Beneath Your Skin)
| length1 = 0:28
| title2 = Into the Night
| length2 = 4:04
| title3 = Song Is Not the Song of the World
| length3 = 3:56
| title4 = Good Friend, Yr Hunger
| length4 = 2:03
| title5 = (We Drew Uncertain Breath)
| length5 = 0:28
| title6 = Bells Aloud
| length6 = 4:50
| title7 = First Light's Freeze
| length7 = 2:16
| title8 = Evidence (A Mask of Horizon, Distortion of Form)
| length8 = 0:55
| title9 = No Voice Was Raised
| length9 = 5:17
| title10 = (Migration Concentric)
| length10 = 0:31
| title11 = All That I Know to Have Changed in You
| length11 = 3:53
| title12 = Dancing with Someone (Privilege of Everything)
| length12 = 3:00
| title13 = Reflecting in the Angles
| length13 = 1:45
}}
Personnel
As with the previous release Cathedral, contributors as simply listed as 'performers' without indicating their specific role.
- Bridgit DeCook
- Chris Schlarb
- Daniel Carter
- G. Lucas Crane
- Gabriel Sundy
- Heidi Diehl
- Justice Constantine
- Nathan Delffs
- Nathan Hubbard
- Orlando Greenhill
- Rafter Roberts
- Raymond Raposa
- Sayard Egan
- Jarvis Taveniere
- Sufjan Stevens
The album was mixed and mastered by Ero Thomson and Rafter Roberts.