Tears of the Valedictorian

Last updated
Tears of the Valedictorian
FrogEyesTearsOfTheValedictorian.jpg
Studio album by
Frog Eyes
ReleasedMay 1, 2007
Genre Indie rock
Length36:14
Label Absolutely Kosher
Producer Carey Mercer, Daryl Smith
Frog Eyes chronology
The Future Is Inter-Disciplinary or Not at All
(2006)		Tears of the Valedictorian
(2007)		 Paul's Tomb: A Triumph
(2010)

Tears of the Valedictorian is a 2007 album by Canadian indie rock band Frog Eyes. It has received high critical praise, with Pitchfork declaring it "one of their best full-lengths to date" and "recommending" the album. [1]

Contents

The album's first single, "Bushels," also received praise when it was released on Pitchfork on February 1.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [2]
Pitchfork 8.5/10 [1]
PopMatters 6/10 [3]
Stylus Magazine B [4]
Tiny Mix Tapes (4/5) [5]

AllMusic's James Christopher Monger said the album showcases Frog Eyes' "uncanny talent for creating manic, beautiful, and upsetting songs that seem to exists wholly for themselves", praising Carey Mercer's rabid vocal delivery and the band's pension for pushing pop music into different territories. [2] Andrew Gaerig of Stylus Magazine praised Mercer for revitalizing his band after 2004's The Folded Palm with a "beautifully constructed" and "phenomenally produced record" that's neither generic or indulgent, saying "he constructed a taut, concise Frog Eyes album that retains the band's signature sound without delving into repetition or trope." [4] Josh Berquist from PopMatters was mixed on Mercer dialing back his vocalization and guitar playing throughout the record to refine his manic artistry and the production that stripped the tracks of the "atmospheric allure" found on previous projects, concluding that: "Ultimately, Mercer's ugliest moments are also his most flattering, which makes Tears of the Valedictorian a mild disappointment that leaves listeners longing for something more unhinged." [3]

Track listing

  1. "Idle Songs" – 2:24
  2. "Caravan Breakers, They Prey on the Weak and the Old" – 7:35
  3. ""Stockades"" – 3:27
  4. "Reform the Countryside" – 5:24
  5. "The Policy Merchant, the Silver Bay" 2:31
  6. "Evil Energy, the Ill Twin of..." – 2:42
  7. "...Eagle Energy" – 1:52
  8. "Bushels" – 9:13
  9. "My Boats They Go" – 1:02

Related Research Articles

<i>Funeral</i> (Arcade Fire album) 2004 studio album by Arcade Fire

Funeral is the debut studio album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on September 14, 2004 by Merge Records. Preliminary recordings for Funeral were made during the course of a week in August 2003 at the Hotel2Tango in Montreal, Quebec, and the recording was completed later that year all in an analogue recording format.

<i>Arcade Fire</i> (EP) 2003 EP by Arcade Fire

Arcade Fire is a self-titled extended play (EP) by the indie rock band Arcade Fire. The EP was recorded in Maine, United States, during the summer of 2002. Arcade Fire was remastered and repackaged for its 2005 re-release by Merge Records for fans after they had "grown obsessed" with the band's debut album, Funeral. It was initially released in 2003 by the band at their shows and website, and then re-released in 2005 by Merge. It received positive reviews from music critics, although some of them noted that it was inferior to their debut album Funeral. Lyrical themes of Arcade Fire consist of parents, suburbia, new love, dread, and drama. The EP's third track, "No Cars Go", was re-recorded for Arcade Fire's second full-length album, Neon Bible. No Cars Go has been played at the majority of live shows since the EP release. Arcade Fire have also played other songs from the EP, live on every tour since, however, it has become less frequent. On their recent tours, they notably played "Headlights Look Like Diamonds" and "Vampire/Forest Fire".

<i>Hey Hey My My Yo Yo</i> 2005 studio album by Junior Senior

Hey Hey My My Yo Yo is the second and final album by Danish pop duo Junior Senior, released in Japan and parts of Europe in 2005. It was released in Australia on 9 April 2007. The album was released on 14 August 2007 in the United States and packaged with a bonus EP.

Frog Eyes

Frog Eyes was an indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada fronted by Carey Mercer. Their 2010 album Paul's Tomb: A Triumph was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize. They have released eight albums and two EPs and are noted for their collaboration with Dan Bejar of Destroyer.

<i>The Folded Palm</i> 2004 studio album by Frog Eyes

The Folded Palm is the third album by Frog Eyes, released on September 14, 2004, on Absolutely Kosher Records.

<i>The Bloody Hand</i> 2002 studio album by Frog Eyes

The Bloody Hand is the debut album by Frog Eyes, and was released in 2002 on Global Symphonic Records. The album was reissued by Absolutely Kosher Records on April 18, 2006 with nine extra tracks.

Shapes and Sizes are a Canadian indie rock band from Victoria, British Columbia. There are four members — Nathan Gage, singers Caila Thompson-Hannant and Rory Seydel, and John Crellin.

Spencer Krug Canadian musician (born 1977)

Spencer Krug is a Canadian musician. He is the singer, songwriter and keyboardist for the indie rock band Wolf Parade and also records under the name Moonface. He has also performed with other Canadian bands including Sunset Rubdown, Swan Lake, Frog Eyes, Fifths of Seven, and ska band the Two Tonne Bowlers, playing various instruments. His involvement in many musical acts has garnered him a noticeably high output of work, being credited on several releases a year. He is known for his distinctive voice and songwriting abilities.

Swan Lake was a Canadian indie supergroup comprising Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes and Blackout Beach, Dan Bejar of Destroyer, Hello, Blue Roses and The New Pornographers, and Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade, Sunset Rubdown and Frog Eyes.

<i>Awoo</i> 2006 studio album by The Hidden Cameras

AWOO is the fourth studio album by The Hidden Cameras, released in 2006.

<i>Ships</i> (album) 2006 studio album by Danielson

Ships is the seventh full-length album by New Jersey indie rock band Danielson. The album was a massive collaboration among Daniel Smith and various other musicians.

Carey Mercer is a Canadian musician best known for his work as lead singer of the indie rock band Frog Eyes and his work in Swan Lake and Blackout Beach.

<i>The Body, the Blood, the Machine</i> 2006 studio album by The Thermals

The Body, the Blood, the Machine is the third studio album by American indie rock band The Thermals. The album was released on August 22, 2006 on Sub Pop Records, and was produced by Fugazi's Brendan Canty. According to the band's official website, "the album tells the story of a young couple who must flee a United States governed by fascist faux-Christians."

<i>Aereo-Plain</i> 1971 studio album by John Hartford

Aereo-Plain is a 1971 studio album by American bluegrass singer-songwriter and instrumentalist John Hartford. It reached number 193 on The Billboard 200 chart.

"4st 7lb" is a song by Welsh alternative rock band, Manic Street Preachers, from the band's third album, The Holy Bible.

<i>We Are Him</i> 2007 album

We Are Him is the fifth and final studio album by American experimental rock band Angels of Light. It was released on September 11, 2007, via Young God Records. The album features extensive contributions from various musicians, including the members of Akron/Family, Hungarian violinist Eszter Bálint, classical music composer Paul Cantelon, cellist Julia Kent, Bill Rieflin, and singer-songwriter Larkin Grimm.

<i>Elephant Eyelash</i> 2005 studio album by Why?

Elephant Eyelash is the first studio album by American band Why?. It was released by Anticon on September 26, 2005. Prior to the formation of the band in 2004, Yoni Wolf had used "Why?" as his stage name for his solo work.

Brother Reade is an American hip-hop duo from Los Angeles. Its members are MC Jimmy Jamz and DJ Bobby Evans.

<i>High Violet</i> 2010 studio album by the National

High Violet is the fifth studio album by the National, which was released on May 10, 2010 in Europe and on May 11, 2010 in North America via 4AD. The band produced the album themselves, assisted by Peter Katis with whom they worked on their previous albums Alligator and Boxer at their own studio in Brooklyn, New York, and at Katis' Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The sculpture on the album cover was created by artist Mark Fox, and is called The Binding Force.

<i>Pauls Tomb: A Triumph</i> 2010 studio album by Frog Eyes

Paul's Tomb: A Triumph is a 2010 album by Canadian indie rock band Frog Eyes. It was a longlisted nominee for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize.

References

  1. 1 2 Wilson, Carl (May 3, 2007). "Frog Eyes: Tears of the Valedictorian". Pitchfork . Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  2. 1 2 Monger, James Christopher. "Tears of the Valedictorian - Frog Eyes". AllMusic . Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  3. 1 2 Berquist, Josh (April 30, 2007). "Frog Eyes: Tears of the Valedictorian". PopMatters . Archived from the original on October 28, 2020. Retrieved June 1, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Gaerig, Andrew (May 1, 2007). "Frog Eyes - Tears of the Valedictorian". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on March 30, 2014. Retrieved August 3, 2009.
  5. ↑ Purdum, Grant 'Gumshoe'. "Review: Tears of the Valedictorian". Tiny Mix Tapes. Archived from the original on September 5, 2015. Retrieved June 1, 2021.



This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.