Frog Holler – Haywire (ZoBird Records).

Frog Holler whetted many appetites with their 2004 mini album The High Highs And The Low Lows and it was with great anticipation that I awaited their first full release since 2003. My wait was worth it as I slipped Haywire into my CD player. They have not lost any of their melody, melancholy or their ability to provoke your thoughts. Hades is the first shot across your bows and is power Americana. Darren Schlappich’s at times fractured vocal does actually give the impression of the pain of a hell on earth. The harmonies, 3 or 4 part are excellent and give pointers to what is to come. On One Last Time the band cranks up the pace a little and there are tones of country/bluegrass in this rocker. Like the rest of the album this is written by Schlappich. Pepper And Salt has the clever, deep lyrics that I have come to expect from Schlappich and this relationship song throws up lines such as “Both sides were peppered with insults but it was taken with no salt”. It’s not all doom and gloom and Terms And Conditions is just pure unadulterated joy. 74 is what Americana is all about and Schlappich shows how good a storyteller he is. This builds up into one of the songs of the album.

They are not just one trick ponies and the next three songs go to prove that. On Winter Blues is sleepy, dreamy modern country, the title track is gentle alt. country with the band on top form and Sight Unseen is country rock with stuttering electric guitars. Although each of these songs is country based they are all different in their execution. Ben Franklin Blues is acoustic harmony laden alt. country and is high class whereas Gwendolyn Brown is slow and moody. This shows Schlappich’s dark side again and the burgeoning chorus and guitar solo are a delight. The album closes all too soon with Rat Race. There’s a bit of bluegrass in this alt. country offering and the lyric “Don’t take me back ‘cause nothing’s changed. It’s just the same old rats run the same old race” will make you think. Frog Holler is the thinking man’s Americana band and you better believe it.

http://www.frogholler.com/

Copyright David Blue 2006.