Tears of the Valedictorian is a 2007 album by Canadianindie 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]
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.[3] 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."[9] 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."[7]
Track listing
"Idle Songs" – 2:24
"Caravan Breakers, They Prey on the Weak and the Old" – 7:35
↑ Valedictorian frequently collides with bracing beauty, sometimes of the conventional sort, but more often like nothing else before it. [May 2007, p.85]
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