Froge

''Froge.mp3'' () is the debut mixtape by Piri & Tommy. It charted at No. 13 on the UK Dance Albums Chart.

Released on 21 October 2022 and on vinyl on 22 April 2023 on Polydor Records, the album contains previous singles " Soft Spot", " Beachin", " Words", and " On & On" and eight further tracks about the pair, and was released to overwhelmingly positive critical reception. The album was promoted by a nine-date tour, Froge.tour, and a twelve-episode YouTube Shorts series, ''Froge.tv''. Critical reception was broadly positive, with ''Gigwise'' describing the album as the 45th best album of 2022, and ''NME'' rating it amongst the twenty best mixtapes and EPs of 2022.

Background

Piri met Tommy Villiers, a member of Porij and See Thru Hands, in 2020, after matching on Tinder, finding his band on Twitter, finding his Instagram account, and asking him if she could "shoot ershot", in that order. At the time, Piri was in a phase of drawing frogs and toads, and they started calling each other 'froge' () as a nickname. After it was realised that Piri could sing and that Villiers could produce, they began writing songs together; the first song they wrote together was "Sunlight".

Singles

On 14 May 2020, Tommy Villiers released "Caviar Hardcore", which appears as a SoundCloud-exclusive bonus track. On 4 June 2021, Piri released " Soft Spot", a solo single produced by Villiers, on DistroKid. It went viral on TikTok and Spotify, prompting EMI to sign the pair, and re-release "Soft Spot" under the name "Piri & Tommy Villiers" on 12 September 2021; as Piri & Tommy, EMI also released " Beachin" on 28 January 2022 and " Words" on 22 April 2022. Polydor Records later signed them and released " On & On" on 28 July 2022.

Release and promotion

Piri & Tommy announced the release of the album in September 2022, with Piri describing it as "basically a diary of the first year tommy and I have been making music, and pretty much the first year of us knowing each other at all". The project was intended as a mixtape, rather than an album; in an interview with Student Music Network UK, Piri stated that when they "were making these songs, heyweren't really thinking of an album", and "were just kind of making like songs or doing what was best for each song and making just whatever we felt like making".

''Froge.mp3'' was released on 21 October 2022, with a vinyl release on 22 April 2023. They promoted the mixtape with a nine-date tour, Froge.tour, in November 2022. In addition, the pair uploaded a twelve episode YouTube Shorts series, ''froge.tv'', in which Piri and Villiers explained what the album's songs were written about.

Reception

''Froge.mp3'' charted at No. 13 on the UK Dance Albums Chart. Reviews for the album were broadly positive; ''The Times'' called it "electric", while ''Dork'' gave it five stars and called it an "air-tight, comprehensive taster of their potential". AllMusic likened it to PinkPantheress' ''To Hell with It'' but with "a more Ibiza-friendly sound", and noted that " y of these tracks would sound perfect at a beach rave, but the lyrics and hooks stick with you, and they stand up to repeated home listens. hellip;Fresh, vibrant, and deeper than it might seem on the surface, froge.mp3 is a gem". ''The New Yorker'' called it "charming", ''NME'' rated it amongst the twenty best mixtapes and EPs of 2022, and ''Gigwise'' described the album as the 45th best album of 2022. Reviewing a ''Froge.tour'' gig, ''The Guardian'' singled out "Silver Lining" for praise, and complimented its lyrics "How did we get this far?" and "running out of time, I can still see a silver lining" . A slightly more lukewarm review, however, came from ''The Soundboard Stereo'', who described the album as "generally likable as background music".

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes.

Musicians
* Piri – lead vocals
* Tommy Villiers – vocals (4, 9), mixing (all except 11), mastering (3, 11)
* Jonny Breakwell – mixing (11)
* Stuart Hawkes – mastering (all except 3 and 11)

Charts

Notes

References

{{Piri

2022 mixtape albums
Debut mixtape albums
Piri & Tommy albums
Polydor Records albums