''Return of the Frog Queen'' is a solo album by

Jeremy Enigk Jeremy Enigk (; born July 16, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, vocalist and guitarist / multi-instrumentalist. He is known as a solo artist, a film score composer, and as the lead vocalist, bassist, rhythm guitarist and keyboardist of the ...

, recorded following his brief retirement from music due to the temporary split of

Sunny Day Real Estate Sunny Day Real Estate is an American emo/indie rock band from Seattle, formed in 1992. The band currently consists of founding members Jeremy Enigk (vocals, guitar), Dan Hoerner (guitar) and William Goldsmith (drums), alongside Greg Suran (gui ...

. It was recorded with a 21-piece

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

and released in 1996. It has a slower and quieter sound than Sunny Day Real Estate's often-bombastic albums. The album was recorded after Enigk converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

; this conversion had been originally thought to have brought on the disbanding of Sunny Day Real Estate, which was later cleared up as a smaller part of more internal struggles in the band. Sunny Day Real Estate reunited in 1997, when they released ''

How It Feels to Be Something On ''How It Feels to Be Something On'' is the third studio album by American rock band Sunny Day Real Estate, and the first following their 1997 reunion. It was released September 8, 1998. Reissue In 2016, Sub Pop announced that they would reissue ...

''. The sound of that record furthers the mellower sound developed on ''Return of the Frog Queen''. According to the 1997 Sub Pop mail-order catalog, Lou Barlow, of fellow Sub Pop band

Sebadoh Sebadoh () is an American indie rock band formed in 1986 in Northampton, Massachusetts, by Eric Gaffney and Lou Barlow, with multi-instrumentalist Jason Loewenstein completing the line-up in 1989. Barlow co-created Sebadoh as an outlet for hi ...

, cited ''Frog Queen'' as his favorite album of 1996.

Critical reception

Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who Dave Schulps and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

'' called the album "magical," writing that "other than some Beatlisms, the record occasionally suggests how Syd Barrett might have sounded had he been able to mount a full-fledged production effort, but there’s so much else going on here that any sense of nostalgia quickly evaporates." '' MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide'' wrote that "Enigk and his keening, crackly tenor forge an intriguing recording reminiscent of early '70s British

psychedelic pop Psychedelic pop (or acid pop) is pop music that contains musical characteristics associated with psychedelic music. Developing in the late 1960s, elements included "trippy" features such as fuzz guitars, tape manipulation, backwards recording, ...

." ''

The New Rolling Stone Album Guide ''The Rolling Stone Album Guide'', previously known as ''The Rolling Stone Record Guide'', is a book that contains professional music reviews written and edited by staff members from ''Rolling Stone'' magazine. Its first edition was published in 1 ...

'' called the album "dazzling, if enigmatic,

orchestral pop Orchestral pop (sometimes called ork-pop for short) is pop music that has been arranged and performed by a symphonic orchestra. It may also be conflated with the terms symphonic pop or chamber pop. History During the 1960s, pop music on radio a ...

." In its review of the album's reissue, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' wrote that ''Return of the Frog Queens "orchestral grandeur helped shape indie rock's future."

Track listing

#"Abegail Anne" – 3:01 #"Return of the Frog Queen" – 3:30 #"Lewis Hollow" – 1:58 #"Lizard" – 3:14 #"Carnival" – 4:03 #"Call Me Steam" – 2:48 #"Explain" – 3:29 #"Shade and the Black Hat" – 4:58 #"Fallen Heart" – 2:22

Personnel

*Christine Gunn – Cello *Joe Bichsel – Cello *Anna Doak – Bass (Upright) *Jeremy Enigk – Bass, Guitar, Piano, Arranger, Drums, Harp, Harpsichord, Vocals, Engineer, Design *Carlos Flores – Violin *Jeni Foster – Harp *William Goldsmith – Drums *Fred Hawkinson – Trombone (Bass) *Cathy Lauer – Assistant Engineer *Greg Lyons – Trumpet *Felicia McFall – Viola *Roberta Newland – Flute, Piccolo *Joe LeBlanc – Clarinet *Mark Nichols – Arranger, Conductor *Charles Peterson – Photography *Beverly Reese – Percussion, Glockenspiel *Laura Sperling – Flute, Piccolo *Chris Stover – Trombone *Hank Trotter – Design *Sam Williams – Viola *Greg Williamson – Producer, Engineer, Mixing *Ken Wright – Violin *Curry Wyrick – Assistant Engineer

References

{{Authority control 1996 albums Jeremy Enigk albums Orchestral pop albums Pop albums by American artists Sub Pop albums