A Frost Family Affair

The duo were calling from a notably blank Tokyo apartment where they were staying to work on some TBA projects. After a whirlwind year of recording, releasing and touring around the world, the subject of family and growing up could evoke that sad, sorry feeling of homesickness, but instead, memories of home brought a warm sense of nostalgia.

It makes sense why. The siblings were raised in a family that nurtured their unique musicality, a truth that was evident through stories their mother Diane, father Bob and brother Brian generously shared with PAPER. Of one early star-making karaoke performance at a Cancun resort, Diane recalled, “They made Bob [their father] go up with them because they were a little nervous, but then he quickly discovered they didn’t need him at all. They belted out ‘Paranoid’ by Black Sabbath and the crowd went wild. The next day, all sorts of people came up to them saying, ‘Rock on, you were awesome.’”

Their father, Brian, in turn offered stories of his own early musical projects that colored the siblings' early years. “I was in a rock and roll cover band, called Nitrous (the other members were all medical professionals in the anesthesia business, thus the name). We played in local clubs for over a decade. My wife and I would drag our kids to see us play live.” To which Diane added, “The kids thought they were pretty special, as they were allowed in bars to see them play, but only when they played the first set, then they were kicked out.”

Those quick peeks into St. Louis bars were the beginning of a fortuitous road for the prolific siblings. These days they spend countless nights in such spaces, but now it’s the duo who has ascended their father’s stage-lit spotlight.

The Frost Children are often referred to as shining examples of a new downtown New York City music scene, or towards the beginning of their career, as the next chapter of hyperpop, but such labels have the clunky feeling of an imposed narrative. The Frost Children’s rise is not the story of some niche counter-cultural moment, but rather the simple story of two siblings who were raised to embrace their creativity in its full breadth; it’s the story of a family, in all of its singular eccentricity, marked by their inside-jokes, a universe indecipherable to the outsider.

That unbridled energy and spirit would explain their expansive and eclectic output. Just this year they have released two albums, whose different sonics and themes provide the two poles of the Frost Children's globe. SPEED RUN, released in June 2023, bristled with a snide attitude, defined by its intricate production and ravier propulsion. It was enough of a success to warrant at least a year of full dedicated touring and promotion, but just this November they returned with a whole other record, Hearth Room, an unabashedly warm project featuring thick layers of acoustic guitar and disarmingly heartfelt lyrics. In every way that Speed Run was fast, Hearth Room was patient; in every way the first record was absurdist, the second was straightforward and tender. This was, of course, all by design.

“The timing [of the two records] was definitely to sync up with our own music tastes,” Angel offered. “In the summertime, you want music to hype you up to go out in New York and to listen to while you’re partying. Once it starts getting a little bit cold, you're like, ‘I don't want to be giving my brain crack all the time anymore. I need to heal and start listening to softer stuff.’”

Lulu provided more overarching context for where these two records sit in the Frost Children’s personal cannon. “The clubbier side is a character that I love so dearly to play and then the softer stuff is a more raw expression of us,” Lulu said. “I’m a very normal person off the stage, so [Hearth Room] feels more true to my daily life. SPEED RUN is like, ‘I wanna become this character because it makes me feel cooler than I am.’”

“I think you’re cool, Lulu,” Angel muttered, nodding to her sibling.

These small moments of sweetness defined our conversation. When asked if there was ever an element of sibling rivalry, they responded as if the concept was unthinkable.

“I think we leave room for each other's spirits to exist,” Lulu said. “We’re just people that share so many things together. If we weren't family we would just be best friends.”

“Yeah, I've never really felt any kind of competitive feeling,” Angel added. “It seems like if one of us is winning, then we're both winning.”

And winning they are. Some of those awards include a dedicated and growing fan base, non-stop touring, stints in Japan and fashion week runways. But in all the chaos, that thing — home — can feel like a vague and fading concept. That’s why a return to their family brought its signature sweetness and sense of relief, even if their parents had just moved from their St. Louis childhood home into a new Virginia apartment.

“It still feels cozy going [to their new house], but when your parents still live where you grew up, you have this feeling that no matter what happens — even if you gloriously fail at what you're doing — you can at least go back to your hometown and just exist,” reflected Angel, her voice piquing. “After our parents moved out, it was like, No, there's really no option to fail. It's invigorating in a way, like, Okay, let’s go go go!”

It’s true. Now there’s no returning to life as it was. No more going back to that suburban sprawl, the quaint specificity of a region known as home and crucially, no more basement where the duo, and their brother Brian, who they credit as a chief mentor in their musical development, used to spend hours upon hours immersed in new sounds.

Brian shared a description of this space and in his nostalgic words, you can almost hear the murmuring hum of the family’s hubbub. “It was a plain rectangle room with yellow walls and incorrectly placed sound treatment panels,” he said. “But it was filled with all of our instruments; each of my father’s guitars lined up in a row on one wall on stands just begging to be played, my blue drum set centered in the back between the guitar amps as if the room was staged for a performance. It is and always will be one of my favorite places on earth, with so many memories and pieces of music made there.”

Families move and children stumble into adulthood. Some even become rockstars. But for the Prosts there is always time for each other, for the warm embrace of Christmas, a return to each other and the changing, fleeting feeling family brings you. Christmas time is here. And for those lucky enough to be able to say that word — “family” — with something other than a dejected sigh, the holidays can be a true gift.

Gathered in their family’s own Hearth Room, they posed for PAPER, Lulu and Angel layered in their signature out-of-the-box garments, shining like the supernovas that they are. Yes, they are The Frost Children. They are also Lulu and Angel Prost, back just in time for this year’s Christmas cards. They pose, with a glamorous stare. Brian, Diane and Bob cozied up next to them. It’s a family affair.

Photography: Tim Schutsky
Styling: Carma Flores
Styling assistants: Jinx, Jaidev Alvarez, Jackson Prus

Editor-in-chief: Justin Moran
Managing editor: Matt Wille
Editorial producer: Angelina Cantù
Music editor: Erica Campbell
Story: Tobias Hess