Written by Sam Novak
If you’ve been keeping up with frog these past couple years you’re well aware of the frog-umental run they’ve been on. With each album they’ve been able to hone in on what’s now become their signature sound and deliver super great tunes at an even more impressive rate. And nothing has changed with their newest Lp THE COUNT. Led by Daniel Bateman on vocals and guitar, Steve Bateman on drums, and Thomas White on Bass, the trio supplies us with another pack of songs that are sure to become anthems, earworms, and potentially eyebrow-raising lyrically.
If you haven’t heard of frog before, they’re a York band with a modern Americana feel, yet not so distinctly defined by a country twang or various folk influences (like Wilco, horse jumper of love, or acetone). To me it’s something in the simplicity of their arrangement of instruments, their DIY feel, or maybe just their song American had such a strong impression on me. They’re a plain and simple band that exists in ever-changing New York indie scenes. But labels aside, you listen to a frog song when you want to feel at home. And whether that home is one of melancholy, longing, or whatever it may be, there’s a place for you.
But now to cover their newest release THE COUNT. Frog dives into the same sonic palette and themes as the previous album, but as a concept album! Throughout the album Bateman plays into the character “The Count” a man in his late 20s with an ambiguous past and origin. Only appearing in bars in the New York metro area to drink, raving about offscreen women, and delivering a presence so striking anyone could feel it in a 2-square radius. The album begins with a warm Dracula-esc organ alongside a quiet drum machine to keep time. Once the stage is set, the Count emerges with a fluttery vibrato, scattered piano keys and lax drums. Lovesick in the lyrics, the count sings to a girl, maybe a previous relationship, saying how she was “bitten by my love” and that all he wants to do is “is take you back to my coffin”. Adding to the vampiric themes of the song. With its more than welcome 6 minute runtime, you’re fully immersed in the world the Count finds himself in.
This quaint welcoming is followed by one of the singles for the album “SAX-A-MA-PHONE”. An unapologetically forward and eccentric song lyrically. It begins with another vampiric theme with a dissonant piano intro. The song quickly changes key and lyrically we are immediately introduced to some of the aforementioned traits of the Count hinted to in the previous song. In short, the Count is Batman, and his signal is a bootycall. Fast forward to the last third of the song we have the first appearance of the RAP FROG and the flow is croaked.
The next song, GIRL WITH A PROBLEM XI. has more themes of lovesickness with vintage sounding piano melodies. But yet again, in the last 3rd of the song we are introduced to more rap frog, this time delivered from Cam. Cam introduces himself before his verse and that’s all I can tell you about him, he could be a character but I’m not sure, he’s just Cam. Now Cam’s verse isn’t exactly as ribbeting as the Counts but it sure does place this album in the running for top white boy rap album of the year.
And now the earworm – COME COME COME VAR XI. The count is back to throw more unfrogettable bars and choruses for you to pond-er. Though, I find this song to be the most unconventional off the album. The juxtaposition of his falsetto, chorus, and rapping makes it hard to digest initially but it is a certified ‘burb classic that you’ll toadally come come come come back to again and again, likely because you can’t get the damn chorus out of your head.
Next is SPANISH ARMADA VAR. XV, one of the few songs that adds a guitar in the instrumental mix. Again another single released on the lead up to the albums release. A much more classic sounding frog tune, reminiscent of something off Count Bateman (2019). Here frog uses this formula on the bridge where bateman’s falsetto is used to build this perfect tension. The higher it goes the more it seems like it’s bound to burst at the seams and fall apart completely. It’s a special quality I’ve only found compelling in frog’s music. It simply never fails to add such a rich and convincing emotional imprint to a song. Just another one of those things that makes frog, completely and amphibiously frog (listen to New Ro off Grog or even American off Whatever We Probably Already Had it if you want more of this) (also don’t worry I’m out of frog puns at this point).
This brings us to BARUCH ATTA and MARIAH XVII, the centerpiece of the record. Here I’m not so sure it’s entirely a cameo of the Count as it is Bateman talking here. Unlike the persona of the Count, the song covers more personal topics as grappling with age, cheating, love, and longing. It begins with a pensive piano melody that’s backed with steady drumming. The simplicity of the instrumental allows for an intimate stage to be set for the delivery of Bateman/the Count’s lyrics. It’s very personal point in the record, contrasting previously mentioned themes. The instrumental itself reflects this with a lot more explorative with piano melodies, almost reminiscent of some of the pieces from a Moon Shaped Pool, bordering a somber contemporary/jazzy feel. If you don’t check out any of the other songs, I recommend queuing up these two back to back and just sitting in the songs atmosphere. It’s my personal favorite moment of the album.
Were welcomed back with a more uplifting feel on CHELSEA PIERS VAR. XVII with a chugging piano beat, which had to of formed out of a jam inspired by Waiting for My Man by VU. I love the lyrics in this song, it compliments the atmosphere very well, opening with the simple innocent line, “Chelsea Piers, do you wanna get beers at the function?” It gives way to this carefree riffing of lines to follow, a lazy Sunday of a song that I enjoy quite a lot.
The album ends with CAROLINE VAR. XIX and WITH ANOTHER GUY VAR. XX. Again, Caroline reminds me of another cut off Count Bateman with that beloved almost haunting sounding acoustic guitar and drum tuning combo. Though that may be a personal bias as their song RIP to the Empire State Flea Market also made such a huge impact on me. (if you know what I’m getting at with the harmonica pairing you get it). It’s a really gutting song lyrically. The same thing comes WITH ANOTHER GUY. XX, the song begins with a gloomy Okonski-esc piano melody. The song is sung from a deeply distraught point of view as words are almost whispered throughout. The record begins lightly and ends quite heavy, perhaps echoing the cycle the Count finds himself in, returning to the “drunken lounge singer in a darkened booth”.
Overall, it’s another fantastic release by frog. As a fan, there’s not much more to ask for. (other than maybe a discography boxset or for frog to come pay us a visit down here in Arkansas!) It’s another stone cold classic to the ever growing frog catalog and I’m excited to see what’s to come for the band after this. Frog forever!!!!
Rating: 7/10
Favorite tunes: BITTEN BY MY LOVE VAR. XI, BARUCH ATTA (IN THE MIDDLE SONG) VAR. XVI, MARIAH VAR. XVII, CHELSEA PIERS VAR. XVIII