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Victoria, British Columbia quartet
Frog Eyes are the antithesis of their quiet Canadian city. Utilizing the carnival atmosphere of
Rain Dogs-era
Tom Waits, the frenetic energy of vintage
Cramps, and the diabolical scheming of pre-
Murder Ballads Nick Cave, the post-punk collective created an atmosphere of psychedelic unease with their 2002 full-length debut
The Bloody Hand. After issuing eight idiosyncratic albums, including the Polaris Music Prize-nominated
Paul's Tomb: A Triumph, a pair of EPs, and a collaboration with
Dan Bejar of
Destroyer (2005's
Notorious Lightning and Other Works), the group ceased operations in 2018 with the release of their supposed final act,
Violet Psalms, but reunited in 2022 and issued a new studio effort titled
The Bees.
Lead singer
Carey Mercer, who mined similar territories in his previous group Blue Pine, and with his solo project
Blackout Beach and indie supergroup
Swan Lake, leads the indie rock ensemble, which also includes his wife
Melanie Campbell, Grayson Walker, and Michael Rak --
Mercer and
Campbell would go on to serve as the group's only constant members. In 2003, after the critical success of
Hand, the group released the enigmatic
Golden River on the Animal World label, resulting in another flurry of raves and a newly minted fan base. They signed to Absolutely Kosher the following year and released their strongest record to date, the volatile and charismatic
Folded Palm, as well as the lo-fi acoustic EP Ego Scriptor. The year 2006 saw the release of
Bloody Hand, again on Absolutely Kosher, followed by
Tears of the Valedictorian in 2007 and
Paul's Tomb: A Triumph in 2010, the latter of which earned a Polaris Music Prize nomination. In 2014, the band issued the appropriately titled
Carey's Cold Spring, a nine-track collection of new material that reflected
Mercer's recent throat cancer diagnosis, as well as the death of his father.
Mercer also dealt with his father's passing on
Frog Eyes' 2015 album
Pickpocket's Locket, which featured ten songs he wrote on a Martin D-18 guitar left to him by his dad. The album also debuted a new lineup of
Frog Eyes, with
Mercer and
Campbell joined by pianist
Shyla Seller and bassist Terri Upton.
In March of 2018, the veteran indie rockers announced that they would be calling it a day and releasing a final album, with
Mercer noting that "there's a ring-like circle to eight." The resulting
Violet Psalms was issued later that May, and was accompanied by a farewell tour.
Mercer,
Campbell, and
Seller reconvened under the
Frog Eyes banner in 2022 and released the group's surprise ninth long-player,
The Bees, via Paper Bag Records. ~ James Christopher Monger