Photo by Andrew Piccone.
I’ve had this album on my to do list for a while but sitting here now in such lovely weather it feels like maybe it was fate that I would end up listening in such a situation. Frog, a two piece band (although you wouldn’t believe it listening to the record) from Queens, have written a bit of a masterpiece for their second album, following on from 2013’s self titled, an album which sounds spectacular turned up loud, with beautiful vocals and superb lyrics mixed with some stunning guitar parts and some understated but exceptional drumming.
Opening with ‘All Dogs Go To Heaven’ the album sets standards high from the get go, the picked guitars sounding perfect, the first glance at the vocals really pleasing the ears. ‘Everything 2002′ is probably my favourite track from the album, the song starting quietly with a familiar build up and vocals which sit low in the mix, adding to the sound rather than taking all the attention as the organ sound rings over the top. The press release states that it doesn’t sound like it was recorded in Columbia Studios but I think that this does it a bit of an injustice – the guitars sound like guitars, you can hear nuances in the instruments, certainly not over produced but it’s obvious that some effort has been spent getting it to sound almost like you’re in the room.
‘King Kong’ took me a bit off guard after the fairly moderate pace of the first six tracks, a fast paced tune with ape yells (obviously) it’s enjoyable albeit a bit unexpected. ‘Catchyalater’ on the other hand slows the pace right back down, audible hiss ringing out with synth bass progressing what would otherwise be just a nice guitar and vocal track. As the bent piano rings in the final few minutes you have to respect how gloriously emotion the song, and the album on the whole, sounds. This track is absolutely stunning.
Overall, Kind Of Blah doesn’t match it’s name; it’s an album of absolutely stunning, interesting, raw tracks. Production is clean and sounds like I imagine it sounded in the studio itself, the songwriting and the nuances of the guitars giving it a polished sound without the need for studio trickery. The vocals and the lyrics are beautiful throughout. I was a bit concerned going in that this would be a hard album to get into but, honestly, you can just step right in. It’s the perfect soundtrack for summer trips, an album which needs to be played at a decent volume to hear all the details. I only hope they head over to the UK for some live shows to support it sometime soon. Blah? No, wonderful.
You can, and should, pre-order the vinyl from Audio Antihero.
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