Many people have asked me “Sarah, what are some of your favorite albums?” and I always mention Frog Eyes’ Tears of the Valedictorian. What a tremendous album. What a tremendous sound. What a talented band. Tears runs barely over thirty five minutes, but that’s all they needed to give us nine great songs that each tell a story. Cary Mercer’s vocals truly make the album, they are just gorgeous. What he does with his voice is unmatched by probably anyone in the indie music industry, aside from former band mate Spencer Krug of Sunset Rubdown and Wolf Parade, and perhaps Issac Brock of Modest Mouse. Honestly, to truly understand what I’m talking about when I say that his vocal ability is unreal, one would have to listen to the album. Or at least take a listen to one of my favorite songs of all time, Bushels. I promise you, this will be the best nine minute musical experience of your life:

Good lord. Talk about vocal range, huh? Tears also provides other fan favorites such as Reform the Countryside, “Stockades”, and Caravan Breakers, They Prey On the Weak and the Old. The album opens up with the short and sweet Idle Songs to set the tone of the next half hour, then delivers punch after punch until the very end with the even shorter and still sweet My Boats They Go to bring Tears to a close. One of the reasons why I love Tears of the Valedictorian so very much is because it’s unlike anything I’ve ever heard before. Mercer introduces such unique sounds throughout the album, from the animal chanting in Bushels to the full length crescendo of Evil Energy, The Ill Twin Of…

An interesting thing about Frog Eyes in the amount of influential musicians in the indie world that have come and gone as band mates. These name drops include:

• Ryan Beattie of The Himalayan Bear
• Dante DeCaro of Hot Hot Heat and Wolf Parade
• Megan Boddy of Chet
• Matt Skillings – head engineer for Japandroids

The musicians named above are just a few members past and present of the Frog Eyes crew. Because of the number of band mates walking in and out of the band, Frog Eyes is associated quite frequently with other indie fan favorites such as Destroyer, The New Pornographers, Swan Lake, Wolf Parade, and Sunset Rubdown. (The last two listed are two of my other all time favorite bands!) For your enjoyment, here’s Caravan Breakers, They Prey On the Weak and the Old. Please indulge:

If you’d like to hear the rest of the album, all of the videos should be on Youtube! Where are all of my Frog Eyes fans at? What are some of your favorite indie bands? What’s your favorite album? Leave me a comment and let’s chat! -Sarah