Paul’s Tomb: A Triumph is the followup to Frog Eyes’ excellent 2007 wank-fest, Tears of the Valedictorian, and its first album without the help of Canadian indie-rock everywhere-man Spencer Krug. Not to worry, though — the equally verbose Carey Mercer is still running this show, when he’s not moonlighting as one of Krug’s sidekicks in Swan Lake. Confused yet? You’d need to be a professor of physics to follow the paths of most Canadian indie-rockers, but Frog Eyes has etched itself a surprisingly vivid personality with its manic, loquacious style.
Triumph starts promisingly enough with “A Flower in a Glove,” a bombastic effort that finally shines some light into the layers that this band has always been hiding under. Dense, wordy free-for-alls might be this band’s fastball, but “Flower” shows it to have a much-needed change-up. And while the album does revert back to the band’s familiar style on occasion (“The Sensitive Girls,” “Styled by Dr. Roberts”), Frog Eyes doesn’t hesitate to partake in some welcome variation. “Rebel Park” is a glorious, Vampire Weekend-aping jolt, but with 10 times the brains; “Violent Psalms” is a haunting dirge worthy of Vincent Price.
Frog Eyes has always had personality to spare. Now, by displaying some wanderlust on Paul’s Tomb, it’s also showing some staying power.
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