The Kings Of Frog Island – V

1. Tangerine
2. Sunburn
3. Temporal Riff
4. Born On The Fourth
5. Raised In A Lion’s Den
6. Novocaine
7. Five O Grind
8. Destroy All Monsters
9. Make It Last
10. On
“There’s little I’m inclined to argue with less than a new The Kings of Frog Island record. Their 2013 outing, “I”, began a new era for the amorphous UK band, self-releasing LPs after a three-album stint on Elektrohasch, and they follow that LP quickly with the heady two-sides of “”, which furthers their blend of classic psych, garage rock and heavy/desert rock impulses. I don’t think it really matters who shows up on a given day for the studio, just so long as they can jam, and “” unquestionably benefits from that mentality, and this time around, steady partakers Mark Buteaux (vocals/guitar), Roger “Dodge” Watson (drums) and Gavin Searle are joined by Gavin Wright and Tony Heslop, who came aboard last time out, and Lee Madel-Toner, with Scarlett Searle guesting. Change and fluidity have been running themes for The Kings of Frog Island since their 2005 self-titled debut, and “” is no exception.”
“Like “I”, there’s no number anywhere on the 12″ sleeve that would tip you off if you didn’t already know it was the fifth album, but even side-by-side with its predecessor, “” shows off a heady growth in sound and confidence from last year’s offering, Buteaux comfortable topping side A’s tripped-out closer “Raised In A Lion’s Den” with a single line of vocals (“I was born in a desert, raised in a lion’s den”) to add mystique to an already molten atmosphere. In particular, the blend of ambience and more grounded songwriting ‘ something have never lacked ‘ is readily on display throughout the new LP, an early highlight arriving with the psychedelic desertisms of “Sunburn”, the opener that billows out of the introductory “Tangerine”. For the first half, divisions between songs are otherwise pretty clear. “Tangerine” hypnotizes early and gives way directly to “Sunburn”, but that song, “Temporal Riff”, which follows, “Born On The Fourth” and “Raised In A Lion’s Den” have definitive starts and finishes, which by the time side B rounds out won’t be the case. “Temporal Riff” is another early high point, departing from “Sunburn”‘s distortion waves and into ’60s-style acoustic psych pop that subtly builds around a wash of cymbals that continues a theme from last time out of patient, impeccably captured drumming from Watson, fluid in the speakers and in the ears and a key element in the band’s approach. The song itself isn’t limited to that or to a jam ‘ it has one of the album’s best hooks, right up there with “Sunburn” ‘ but it makes the transition easier into the classic garage rock swagger of “Born On The Fourth”, a quicker jaunt distinguished by call and response vocals and the lyric “Put your hand in the palm of mine”, which mirrors the rhythmic insistence well.”
“”Raised In A Lion’s Den” is likewise well placed at the end of side A, since it foreshadows some of what side B gets up to with its lull-your-consciousness rollout and sense of lysergic space rock meandering. “Novocaine” is earthbound compared to some of what follows, with a lightly Beatles-style verse-into-chorus transition, but still plenty groovy, starting out soft and getting into volume-swell guitar antics and subdued airiness before the more purely desert-tinged “Five O Grind” reminds of the expanses a Kyuss influence can cover when put to best use. The swirl and heavier vibe is immediate, echoing vocals deep under the riff, the title repeated as the lyrical center of the song, the fuzz consuming. It’s the most forceful of the riffers on “”, but not out of place either with “Novocaine” before it or “Destroy All Monsters” after, which references Godzilla in its title and is pretty clearly named for its largesse of riff, similarly to how “Temporal Riff” may have been titled for its backward-in-time vibing. “Five O Grind” is the last bit o