Frog in Boiling Water
| Frog in Boiling Water | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | May 24, 2024 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 43:08 | |||
| Label | Fantasy | |||
| Producer | Chris Coady | |||
| DIIV chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Frog in Boiling Water | ||||
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Frog in Boiling Water is the fourth studio album by American indie rock band DIIV, released on May 24, 2024, through Fantasy Records. It was produced by Chris Coady and preceded by the release of five singles: lead single "Brown Paper Bag",[3] "Soul-net", "Everyone Out", "Frog in Boiling Water", and the final single, "Raining on Your Pillow".[4] The album received positive reviews from critics.
Background
[edit]The band described Frog in Boiling Water as "more or less a collection of snapshots from various angles of our modern condition which we think highlights what this collapse looks like and, more particularly, what it feels like". The title is taken from Daniel Quinn's 1996 novel The Story of B.[5]
Critical reception
[edit]| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 79/100[6] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Clash | 9/10[7] |
| DIY |   [8] |
| Exclaim! | 7/10[9] |
| Pitchfork | 7.5/10[10] |
| Spin | B+[11] |
| Uncut | 8/10[12] |
Frog in Boiling Water received a score of 79 out of 100 on review aggregator Metacritic based on 14 reviews, which the website categorized as "Generally favorable reviews".[6] Stereogum named it album of the week, with the site's Michael Tedder calling it "their most mature and best album, a sign that this is a band in it for the long haul", as well as the band's "most effortlessly beautiful record yet".[13] Uncut called it "a beautiful-sounding record with tracks like 'Somber the Drums' and 'Everyone Out' providing moments of tender poppy beauty amid the general sense of decay".[12]
Joe Goggins of DIY called the album "a highly conceptual and quietly furious piece that sifts through the wreckage of post-truth politics with disarming incision as well as "thrilling and thoughtful".[8] Clash's Matthew Mclister found it to be "gloomier, even moodier and even more beautiful than their last" and that it "makes for a fascinating listen".[7] Reviewing the album for Pitchfork, Ashley Bardhan described it as a "sour new album coping with capitalism. Its chiffon layers of reverb wrap around the guitars like a burial cloth, and Smith accepts the boat ride down to purgatory in distant vocals".[10]
Spin's Eli Enis wrote that "DIIV have once again shrewdly adapted, pivoting away from the chonky riffs of Deceiver and delivering the most tense, subtle, and cerebral music of their whole career".[11] Marko Djurdjic of Exclaim! felt that although Frog in Boiling Water contains some of the band's "most sincere, affecting writing, it's also somewhat inert: almost all of the songs have a similar mid-tempo drive that causes much of the first half to blend, which makes for a consistent yet somewhat monotonous listen".[9]
Track listing
[edit]All tracks are written by Andrew Bailey, Benjamin Newman, Colin Caulfield, and Zachary Cole Smith.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "In Amber" | 4:08 |
| 2. | "Brown Paper Bag" | 4:25 |
| 3. | "Raining on Your Pillow" | 3:53 |
| 4. | "Frog in Boiling Water" | 3:57 |
| 5. | "Everyone Out" | 4:52 |
| 6. | "Reflected" | 3:36 |
| 7. | "Somber the Drums" | 3:58 |
| 8. | "Little Birds" | 4:21 |
| 9. | "Soul-net" | 4:24 |
| 10. | "Fender on the Freeway" | 5:34 |
| Total length: | 43:08 | |
Personnel
[edit]DIIV
- Andrew Bailey – guitar, programming
- Ben Newman – drums, programming, synthesizer
- Colin Caulfield – vocals, bass guitar, programming, synthesizer
- Zachary Cole Smith – vocals, guitar, programming, synthesizer
Technical
- Chris Coady – production, mixing
- Howie Weinberg – mastering
- David Tolomei – engineering
- Chaz Sexton – engineering assistance
Charts
[edit]| Chart (2024) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[14] | 105 |
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[15] | 51 |
| UK Album Downloads (OCC)[16] | 46 |
References
[edit]- ^ "DIIV Provide a Soundtrack For When the Heat Starts to Rise on Frog in Boiling Water | Paste Magazine". www.pastemagazine.com. May 24, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
- ^ "DIIV – 'Frog In Boiling Water' review: dense shoegaze ruminates on late-stage capitalism | NME". www.nme.com. May 29, 2024. Retrieved June 5, 2024.
- ^ Renshaw, David (February 15, 2024). "DIIV announce new album Frog in Boiling Water". The Fader. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
- ^ Kelly, Tyler Damara (May 21, 2024). "DIIV release final album preview, "Raining On Your Pillow"". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
- ^ Strauss, Matthew (February 15, 2024). "Diiv Announce New Album Frog in Boiling Water, Share New Song "Brown Paper Bag": Listen". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 22, 2024.
- ^ a b "Frog in Boiling Water by DIIV Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 9, 2024.
- ^ a b Mclister, Matthew (May 23, 2024). "DIIV – Frog in Boiling Water | Reviews". Clash. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Goggins, Joe (May 23, 2024). "DIIV – Frog in Boiling Water review". DIY. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Djurdjic, Marko (May 24, 2024). "DIIV Have the Instinct to Survive on Frog in Boiling Water". Exclaim!. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ a b Bardhan, Ashley (May 24, 2024). "DIIV: Frog in Boiling Water Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved May 25, 2024.
- ^ a b Enis, Eli (May 23, 2024). "DIIV Go Deeper on Frog in Boiling Water". Spin. Retrieved May 24, 2024.
- ^ a b "DIIV – Frog in Boiling Water". Uncut. June 2024. p. 32.
- ^ Tedder, Michael (May 21, 2024). "Album of the Week: DIIV Frog in Boiling Water". Stereogum. Retrieved May 23, 2024.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – DIIV – Frog in Boiling Water" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 1, 2024.
- ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved June 1, 2024.