The first in a series of releases is an absolute banger called “Nothing Matters to Me Now,” which is free/PWYW on Bandcamp now (plus streaming everywhere).
This surprise single has received some really nice support from sites and radio in Japan, Argentina, Slovakia, England, Wales, Czechia, New Zealand, Germany, and the USA. Thank you all so much. You can see some of it below:
It’s a gorgeous, glistening album that expands Dylan Gamez Citron’s much-loved solo bedroom pop project (as heard on classic records for Z Tapes and Joy Void) into a full band, capturing the energy, beauty, and urgency of influences like Cap’n Jazz, Modest Mouse, Owls, and Built to Spill.
Airing originally via BBC Radio Scotland on Tuesday evening, you can now stream Bateman’s “Me-in-3” song selections via BBC Sounds for the next month.
Airing originally via FM & DAB radio through London’s Resonance FM (and Pawarota Radio in Poland) on Saturday afternoon, this in-depth interview can now be streamed on Mixcloud.
This was actually Frog’s second appearance on deXter Bentley’s Resonance FM show, having played a live session for them back in January 2016 (as seen in Alex Coppola’s“Kings of Blah” documentary).
This week’s show though even features “Slayer on a Sunny Day” by My Best Unbeaten Brother, who you’ll be hearing a lot more from pretty soon. But if you haven’t heard already, are a new trio featuring Ben and Adam Parker of Nosferatu D2, Tempertwig, and Superman Revenge Squad.
Audio Antihero artists have a long history of appearing on the Hello GoodBye Show, with a few examples preserved on Spotify:
“DanielβsΒ humdrumΒ AmericanΒ portraitureΒ and embodiment of passionate persistence have defined Frogβs sound for nearly a decade, and onΒ Grog, a brotherly bond encourages those songwriting traits to get louder, bolder, and weirder without sacrificing any of the heart.” β Pitchfork
Frog CDs Available Now:
Grab them on Bandcamp or frog.band (where t-shirts are available too).
Frog Live:
Frog’s December 19th show has sold out (thanks for the house Frog!) but they’ll be supporting Ray Bull on Jan 25th at Elsewhere (Zone One) in Brooklyn, NY! Tickets & info.
As a part of Canary’s Unplugged series, this December 19th event will be a unique and intimate Frog performance in a gorgeous Manhattan venue. Also on the bill are Rachel Rose and Foxymoron. The boys are back in town.
Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 on the door (but the show is expected to sell out).
We’ve been thrilled to have seen Frog do so well on Hype Machine recently, with Frog topping both the “Popular Now” chart with “Black on Black on Black,” and also topping the overall Most Posted Artist chart.
Thanks to everyone who featured the album and everyone who helped with likes and shares, etc. We even saw old classics like “All Dogs Go To Heaven,” “Black Friday,” “Rubbernecking,” and “American“ in the Popular Now charts recently! Check Frog out on Hype Machine!
It has been wonderful to see more and more reviews and features rolling in from sites all around the world:
“Grog is, in many ways, a culmination of the greater Frog project: a refinement of the musical and lyrical themes Bateman has pursued his whole career, with fuller arrangements and a bounce that never quite materialized on older records.” β SWIM INTO THE SOUND
“Itβs held on to Count Batemanβs garage-y sound, but the shy persona and subdued grainy sound is replaced with something more confident, as if it had spent the last few years perfecting its dad bod.” β WMUC 90.5 FM
“…the discordant fervor of βDOOM SONG;β with itβs cacophonous guitar-driven jangle and droning vocals, brings to mind genre luminaries like Pile or even Modest Mouse with a touch of swampy twang. Its ascending, chromatic chord progression also brings to mind the haunting and soul-crushing crunch of Alice in Chainsβ βThem Bonesβ without ever dipping into grunge territory.” β BUFFABLOG
“Frog loves hooks and melodies, some review I read compared them to a cool seventies rock station. Vulfpeck sprang to mind when I listened to a few tracks. And Ween.” – CHRISTMAS A GO GO!
“…it seems that it’s by flitting around that they manage to make sense, and it’s clear that diversity is a source of unity here. Amazing! A deep love of music always pays dividends, as Frog once again brilliantly demonstrate.” – LE VILLAGE POP(“Album de la Semaine” feature)
“Grog kind of feels like an alternate-universe oldies station in how it picks and chooses sounds from throughout the past to create a new listening experience.”
“Grog kind of feels like an alternate-universe oldies station in how it picks and chooses sounds from throughout the past to create a new listening experience…If Kind of Blah is one of the best New York City albums Iβve heard, then GROG is about growing up in the suburbs of the only good city on this entire planet.”
“…thereβs no pretentiousness and you believe and feel every single moment. Bateman brothers put their whole souls in these songs and the overall result is a deeply moving and authentic collection.”
“Frog seems to have gathered a new sense of inventiveness and energy, coming up with that not easily definable sound between everything that was and is cool about New Zealandβs Flying Nun Records and left-field Americana, picking up pieces from everywhere and arranging them in a manner that suited Bateman brothersβ fancy.”
“The whole thing hangs together so well it feels almost operatic. Unlike some of the earlier Frog albums, this one is not something youβll come through unscathed, but youβll be a richer person for listening to it.”
“So, here we are, a writer who couldnβt make it pay, writing about a label that couldnβt make it pay, putting out an album by a band that couldnβt really make it pay; a passion-project triumvirate doing what they can.”
"Butthole Surfers/was it worth it?," there's a hook to hang your hat onhttps://t.co/Ru1vC5YmwD
“Audio Antihero has released some of the most exciting indie rock and pop this side of Williamsburgβs gentrification β and with the release of frogβs latest album last week, the little label that could proves itβs not out of the game.”
Frog Interviews:
There’s also a brilliant (and unhinged) interview with Frog’s Danny Bateman on Tasteful Dissonance. Plus, if you missed it, there’s a great interview up on UChicago’s Firebird Magazine also.
Radio:
“GROG” was the “Record of Note” on Roddy Hart’s BBC Radio Scotland show last week! Keep tuning in to Roddy’s show as there’s some more cool Frog stuff coming soon!
In addition to BBC Scotland and BBC Introducing, Frog have been getting national airplay from FM4 in Austria and Radio 3 in Spain, plus GROG was “Album of the Week“ on The Breakdown. The band are also doing brilliantly on noncommercial radio, even making it into various charts. Thanks to stations like WKDU, WRUR, WMUC, CJRC, KXFM, Amazing Radio, KZSC, KHDX, Dandelion Radio, WMBR, KXCI, Radio DePaul, WNMC, Radio Free Brooklyn, WMSE, WHPK, KXLU, WRSU, WUNH, WUSC, WYSO, WQFS and many others! β€
University of Washington’s “Sphere of Influence” show even played an entire one-hour set of Frog classics yesterday! Killer playlist. Expect something similar from DJ Orb Gripper on LA’s KLMU Online Radio in the very near future.
Frog Win Award:
Some great news! The “Kings of Blah” Frog documentary by Alex Coppola won the YoFi Fest 2023 Audience Choice for Best Featurette!
Today we had a lot of fun with what became known as “#frogGROGblog“ by premiering seven songs from Frog’s “GROG” today with music sites from all over Europe and North America.
There was also a really great interview with Bateman in Firebird Magazine (University of Chicago) courtesy of Evgenia Anastasakos. Please read it, it’s so fun. I include a preview below.
Quick reminder that Frog are playing Yonkers Brewing Co. tomorrow as a part of YoFi Fest 11. Tickets for the “Kings of Blah” screening are all SOLD OUT but there’s still time to secure a spot for the live show, album launch and after party! TICKETS.
We’re working really hard on this album, and we can’t wait to share it with you. If you’d like to help us make most of the might “GROG” then there’s a few free things you could consider kindly doing β€
“Maybelline,” the stunning second single from Frog’s November 17th “Grog” album is streaming exclusively today on For The Rabbitsβa really wonderful new music site.
As always, For The Rabbits did a beautiful job with the write-up. They dug deep (as I suppose rabbits often do) and made some gorgeous connections in the sounds and styles of this brilliant and bizarre new single.
A quick thanks also to Roddy Hart and Richard Bull at BBC Scotland for giving “Black on Black on Black” its first BBC airplay this week. My guy gave it a killer introduction, Live At The Apollo type shit. Listen again on the BBC Sounds. My dad liked it (SOURCE).
Audio Antihero 