Frog Eyes | Paul's Tomb A Triumph

Frog Eyes an indie rock band that call Victoria, B.C. home have a new album on the horizon called Paul’s Tomb A Triumph. And as with their previous albums the frenzy of distorted guitars and explosive vocals are still there in spades. Admittedly out of their previous album only a few songs out of their whole catalogue really stood out as more than experimental indie rock. Maybe it was the rate of fire that vocalist Carey Mercer delivered the lyrics or the near impenetrability his songs, but Frog Eyes just never really did it for some. That is until Paul’s Tomb A Triumph. This album is less of a scatter shot and more of a surgical hit, much more focused than the previous albums and more accessible to boot. Frog Eyes has always had a gritty chattering sound to it, riddled with distortion and generous helpings of keyboard induced synth. But that is in part to the structure of most of their songs, which are not the traditional verse, chorus and repeat. Instead they are more sprawling epics with sung parts which meld very naturalistically into diverging instrumentals that at some points feel completely random but some how manage to work. The lyrics off of Paul’s Tomb A Triumph are to true Frog Eyes form, nearly incomprehensible, but that too is part of this albums charm, it’s mystery mixed with iridescent energy and this time around it has never looked better.

Note: Paul’s Tomb A Triumph is reminiscent of Spencer Krug’s earlier efforts with his band Sunset Rubdown. Krug, a former member of Frog Eyes came out with the album Shut Up I Am Dreaming in 2006 and it’s strikingly similar in style to the new Frog Eyes album. Of course one could say that anything that has been touched by the far-reaching members of Wolf Parade has a certain feel to it. Whether it’s with Swan Lake, Handsome Furs, Sunset Rubdown etc., the effect of the group resonates strongly in many bands styles and although Frog Eyes is now apart from Wolf Parade’s tendrils, it too has taken on some familiar characteristics. But that does not somehow undercut what Frog Eyes has done here with Paul's Tomb A Triumph, it’s just an observation on stylist similarities and influences.