Frog have been on a roll these past couple of years. Following something of a comeback with 2023’s Grog, brothers Daniel and Steve Bateman released two albums last year (1000 Variations on the Same Song and The Count) and continue their streak with the somewhat more streamlined but still highly effective and enjoyable Frog for Sale, underscoring their love of traditional pop melodies wrapped in an idiosyncratic, lo-fi package.
The Bandcamp page for Frog for Sale explains that the record’s 12 songs “see the brothers take inspiration from songwriters like Paul McCartney and Buddy Holly“. Fair enough. That kind of classic songcraft is certainly a clear inspiration here. However, the lo-fi aesthetic and overall quirkiness of the recordings owe a debt to artists like Ween, with a touch of the silliness of They Might Be Giants or Jonathan Richman, as well as some deftly placed sophistication that Steely Dan might employ if they were 21st-century kids with secondhand home-recording gear.
The confluence of twee, bedroom pop with sterling compositions is evident from the start, as “Bad Time to Fall in Love Again” combines a syncopated, quasi-Latin rhythm with drum machines, breezy acoustic guitar, and chiming glockenspiel. The absurdity of some of the lyrics brings an additional, welcome layer: “Can we have another episode of it when we get back home / And I’d hardly shudder of the thought of when we are alone / Well, Michael Jackson best he text me lest he fall off the throne.” But it’s not all breezy – there’s an undercurrent of minor-key doom to the woozy shuffle and organ chords of “Best Buy,” even as the languid harmonies of the chorus elevate the track’s gravitas.
The Bateman brothers – with Steve on drums and percussion and Daniel on “everything else”, according to the credits – enjoy playing with different musical styles, which may initially come off as joking and satirical. Still, it’s obvious in the long term that the tributes are sincere, whether it’s in the acoustic twang of “Yonder This Way Comes” or the blue-eyed soul of “Stole My Heart”.
In “Lois Lane”, one of Frog for Sale‘s undeniable high points, sees Frog engaged in a wonderfully elegant bit of symphonic chamber pop wrapped in a tango-inspired beat. Layers of keyboards give the song a lush texture, as Daniel is perhaps playing the role of matchmaker between the title character and the Man of Steel: “Don’t stand a word they’re saying / He is waiting for you, Lois Lane / And he’ll come faster than a speeding train / If it comes down to it, Lois Lane.”
Other high points include the irresistible bop “All the Things You Get” (featuring peerless lines that recall vintage Beck in playboy nerd mode: “Get fucked, get sucked, get fleeced out of your luck / Get drinks outside with co-workers, get Appletinis up”) and the bouncy shuffle of “Max Von Side-Eye” (a title that actually made me laugh out loud when I first saw it). Like the aforementioned Ween and They Might Be Giants, Frog couch their aesthetic with humor and what may initially appear to be an insistent lack of seriousness. There’s no denying that the songwriting here is typically rich and varied, made by people who genuinely appreciate well-structured pop.
Frog for Sale is another chapter in the often fascinating tale of Frog, who enjoy playing with convention, keeping their music genuinely weird, but with a generous helping of songwriting sophistication, and an awful lot of heart.