Listen To: Frogg Cage - The Bateless Edge

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So far, this is my favourite release this year (I've heard only about 200 releases from this year, and there are some other great releases but this one is above all others so far)

You can stream the entire album here

Bateless Edge
Frogg Café

Here are the PA reviews for this album:

 Starless

From the state of New York come the marvellously diverse Frogg Cafe. Formerly a Zappa
cover band, they released their eponymous debut in 2002. Bateless Edge released last
month is their 4th studio album proper, and easily their most ambitious effort to date.
The album consists of eight tracks spanning 77 minutes, so there are no off the cuff pop
tunes here matey! The highly personal lyrical themes touch on child adoption and the 9/11
tragedy, the latter is also apparent from the artwork. This is done sensitively where it could
so easily have been seen as mawkish to those of us detached by thousands of miles, not
to mention our countrymen regularly returning home in boxes from Afghanistan as a
consequence - anyhow, that's not a debate for these pages.
The first track Terra Sancta deals directly with 9/11 and is lyrically very moving. Musically it's
a great piece of orchestral ensemble playing, which at times in the main theme if
comparisons have to be made reminds me of Kashmir, in that it carries a similar sense of
foreboding. There's a great guitar break about 8 minutes in backed by scat piano, the main
theme returning at the end but in a more optimistic vein. A great arrangement and an
awesome start to the album.Following this is an instrumental Move Over I'm Driving, which after the intense first track
calms things down a little. There appear to be no added musicians on this track, but the
group themselves give another fine show of ensemble playing. Some nice time signature
shifts and arpeggio violin work flows smoothly into subtle jazz guitar noodling and trumpet
blowin'and is a fine piece of work. There sure are some highly competent musos in this
band....
Next up is Pasta Fazeuhl. Fans will know that a lot of the band's more improvised work
ends up being named after types of pasta, and this one invents a new Teutonic strain. Get
your local Italian restaurant to patent it lads! This one apparently started life way back in
2003 after seeing Magma play live and is described as "not in the style of Magma....(but) in
the spirit (of).." The band stamp their own jazz-classical style on this "tribute", if that's the
right word. Less angular than Magma, who I have always struggled with to be honest, this
excursion into weirdness has a touch of Sun Ra in there somewhere too, which is no bad
thing. Around 5 minutes in the cacophony halts abruptly, and a cyclical bass riff is slowly
built on by violin, guitar, drums and gradually builds into a very strange sometimes almost
Crimsoid section, in who knows what time signature! Weird but good.
On first hearing I found this one hard work, but repeated listens have made me appreciate
just what great players FC are.
Now we have the centre piece of the album - Under Wuhu Sun - a 20 minute epic split into
3 parts. Another highly personal lyric from Andrew Sussman based on "Wuhu Diary: On
Taking My Daughter Back To Her Home Town In China" by Emily Prager, and on his own
family's experiences in their trials and tribulations adopting their daughter from China.
Starting with a slow theme, the sad emotive song of the first part is followed by a nice guitar
break that lifts the mood while still remaining introspective. The instrumental second part
opens with a chugging riff, followed by a slower quieter but still intricate piece of ensemble
playing and forms a bridge to the concluding third part. The opening of the final section is
the most Zappaesque instrumentally, but still retains the by now recognisable Frogg Cafe
style. A nice clarinet followed by trombone (I think) solo comes in at around the 3 minute
mark leading to a nice bubblingly fluid guitar noodle - mmmmm, nice!
I've only had the opportunity to listen to this track a few times but it's already in danger of
becoming my favourite piece by the band.
Following this is From The Fence, the only track with lyrics not by Andrew Sussman. This
time writing duties are taken by Nick Leito, and they are more ambiguous than his band
mate's. The song could be interpreted in a number of ways, suffice to say the protagonist
seems to be unable to make up his mind which way to turn. Whether personally, politically,
emotionally I can't say, I'll leave that up to you. This is also the straightest "song" on the
album, not that it suffers in any way for it. Quite uplifting, it must be in a major key (don't hold
me to that)!
The final track Belgian Boogie Board was originally written for 2 clarinets and 2 electric
basses and has now had all manner of extraneous instrumentation added and fair belts
along with joyous mischief for its 10 minutes.
All in all this is a highly ambitious work and is deserving of far more attention than it will
inevitably receive. How on earth the band find time to write the songs and complex
orchestral arrangements, and oversee the recording in tandem with their day jobs and the
usual stuff of daily life, families etc, is beyond me. If their was any justice they should be
able to at least make a living from this astounding music.

 Mellotron Storm

PROG REVIEWER

This is one of those reviews that won't justify the music one iota,but here goes. This latest
album from FROGG CAFE was an automatic buy for me after getting so much enjoyment
from both "Creatures" and "Fortunate Observer Of Time" over the years. I just wasn't
prepared for what they created here. At over 77 minutes i'd usually complain about that ,but
not when every song is so good. They've really changed and added to menue here at the
cafe,sure we get the things we love about this band, but they've really brought in some new
flavours including a dark,avant mood at times.Lots and lots of guests as well to fill out the
sound.Frank Camiola who wasn't on the last album but who's been on all the other studio
albums is back.
"Terra Sancta" is dedicated to the children who lost parents on 9/11. It opens with Indian
slide guitar.We also get tabla in this track.It kicks in with horns around a minute.Vibes
too.How good does this sound ! The instrumental section stops as thunder and rain
arrives.Vocals follow with these words "Any other day a snack in your lunch and a kiss from
mom sends you on your way.Not this day." Nice guitar 5 1/2 minutes in.A change a minute
later as the bass becomes prominant and the piano and guitar play over top.This is great !
Horns 11 minutes in then the guitar lights it up.Vocals are back. "Move Over I'm Driving"
written by Nick Lieto has this thought behind the title."It's not really fair that you can't drive
the taxi yourself once you flag it down". It's jazzy to start out with horns and violin.Bass and
drums add some depth.It settles before 4 minutes as sax plays over top.Violin is back
around 6 minutes,guitar too. "Pasta Fazeuhl" ends with "zeuhl" in the title you may have
noticed. The song began it's life after Frank saw MAGMA play at NearFest in 2003. "It's not
so much in the style of MAGMA per se,but rather in the spirit and energy that the band
exudes,and it's a tribute of sorts,Frogg style". The song builds until it kicks in after a
minute.Vibes after 2 1/2 minutes.A calm follows then things get a little Avant/Garde.Another
calm after 4 1/2 minutes as cello enters in then it builds.Check it out 7 1/2 minutes.Nasty !
Strings only before 9 minutes then it kicks back in after 10 minutes.Killer track. "Under
Wuhu Son" is divided into 3 sections.This song is based on a book and related to Andew(i
beleive) who with his wife had a four year struggle to adopt their daughter from China. First
up is "In The Bright Light" which opens with intricate sounds.A gorgeous intro but i like
when it turns darker and heavier 2 minutes in.Vocals follow as it settles.Man this is
good.Love his vocals.It kicks in before 4 minutes.So good after 5 minutes both lyrically and
instrumentally.Emotion.The guitar 6 minutes in is a nice touch.Horns and vibes after 7
minutes. "Left For Dead" opens with horns blasting with a heavy rhythm section joining
in.Too much ! It settles before 3 minutes.Nice.Chunky bass as it builds.Thunder and rain
end it. "Brace Against The Fall" is the final section.A good rhythm section with horns
eventually leads.The vocals before 1 1/2 minutes are again so good from Nick.They stop
after 3 minutes as horns lead.The guitar before 4 1/2 minutes is sublime.Horns and vibes
a minute later.Amazing ! "From The Fence" settles with vocals before a minute.It's so
uplifting.Check out the thoughtful lyrics too.I just get lost in this one. "Belgium Boogie
Board" is the closing 10 1/2 minute instrumental. It's experimental to start then the strings
and horns rip this mother up.Drums join in and vibes.It turns dark with violin and piano after
2 minutes.Intense.A good rhythm follows then it settles after 4 minutes as sounds come
and go.It turns dark before 7 minutes.This is so good.It's like Chamber music here.It picks
back up before 9 minutes.I like the last gasp of music here after the song has already
ended.Like a monster not willing to die.
Without a doubt this will be right at the top of my list for best 2010 release.This must be
heard to be believed

 BrufordFreak

FROGG CAFÉ Bateless Edge is an exciting find for me because its sounds and instrumentation choices are rather unique and
unusual: Brass with tuned percussives and Zappa-Frippish guitar leads?! Ultimately, however, like it's comparable genre-mate
ECHOLYN, the music never quite attains consistent heights of glory, cohesion, and accessibility. The
album has, for me, four highlights of admirable height, however: The
opening song,
"Terra Sancta," with its highly engaging electric guitar riff and
powerfully chaotic and frenetic electric guitar solo (8/10);
"Move Over I'm Driving" which recreates the JEAN-LUC PONTY-FREDDIE
HUBBARD-WEATHER REPORT-MOTHERS OF
INVENTION album that never occurred (7/10);
"Pasta Fazeuhl" which fuses so many unusual musical styles into one song
that it defies categorization (fusion-fusion?!) (7/10), and;
"From the Fence" a more traditional song of almost ballad feel,
beautiful lyrics and singing, interlaced with some awesome hooks
from violin, CHICAGO-like brass section, trombone and trumpet soli.
Actually, all in all this song has a very CHICAGO-ECHOLYN
hybrid feel/sound to it (8/10).
The rest of the album (one 10 ½
minute song and a 24-minute, three-song suite representative of the
process of adopting a Chinese
child) fail to engage and/or entice me.
Overall an album of very
interesting music and songwriting from very talented and adventurous
musicians. I will continue to listen
and look for FROGG CAFÈ music because it makes me pay attention and
smile. 4 stars. Try it! You'll (probably) like (some of) it!

 Nathaniel607

To say the very least, Bateless Edge is an interesting album. The music contained on it
ranges from Eclectic prog to Jazz fusion, from crossover prog to RIO/Avant type music - which,
indeed, makes it seems slightly unfocused. But this is not much of a problem, since, in a Zappaesque
kind of way, this band is good at all these seperate styles! All of this combines for an amazing
musical experience through the Magma-inspired avant-garde ostinatos of "Pasta Fazeuhl" through the
Crossover Prog verses of "In the Bright Light" and the Jazz Fusion stylings of "Move Over I'm
Driving". Each of these seperate compositions brings something to the table. 
The horn playing on this album is very virtuostic - especially the very Zappaesque runs of notes and
the strange time signatures of certain parts. There aren't any shredding guitar solos, but the
guitar is very well handled for what it is, and stand-out instrumental moments include the upright
bass part on "In the Bright Light", the guitar solo of "Terra Sancta" and the marimba/xylophone
playing across the album.

Most of the melodies are extremely beautiful - "Terra Sancta" and "In the Bright Light" are just
downright catchy whereas "Pasta Fazeuhl" and "Belgian Boogy Board" are beautiful soundscapes. None
of the songs are bad. There's no filler on this album. Just great music. 

In conclusion, this is an album which uniquely blends jazz horns and mallet percussion with avant
themes and disharmony with beautiful melodies and skillfull instrument playing into a hodge-podge
masterpiece. 

***** songs; "Terra Sancta", "Under Wuhu Son: In the Bright Light", "Under Wuhu Son: Left for Dead",
"Belgian Boogie Board"

**** songs; "Move Over, I'm Driving", "Under Wuhu Son: Brace Against the Fall", "From the Fence",
"Pasta Fazeuhl"
Final rating, 4.4/5

Cesar Inca

SPECIAL COLLABORATOR
Honorary Collaborator

Frogg Café is more than just a rock or prog rock band, it is a musical force encapsulated
simultaneously in the minds and souls of a host of talented musicians blessed with A-level
musicianship and indefatigable creativity, and all this glory is once more confirmed by the
reality of "Bateless Edge", the band's most recent effort. It is, indeed, a mandatory member
of any Top 5 or Top 3 list of 2010's outstanding prog releases worldwide. I am so glad that
the devotion I have been feeling for Frogg Café has currently met a perfect reassurance. As
in their previous release, the double album "The Safenzee Dieries", the younger Lieto on
trombone acts as an official member, and unlike the last two releases, founding guitarist
Frank Camiola is back in the line-up. The presence of an important number of guest
performers helps the band to achieve a solid, fully expanded sonority for each track: not that
this is a Baroque-oriented or overdone repertoire, but it is evident that the textures and
harmonic schemes of each track are craftily benefited from the presence of more
musicians than the very band itself. Well, this is after all, a major album. As a major album,
it starts on a major note right away with the exotic tambora and acoustic guitar prelude
of 'Terra Sancta'. The exquisite jamming and the tasteful orchestrations delivered on brass,
violin and tonal percussion bring a delicious journey that sounds a little like some sort
of "Echolynized" Dave Matthews band, or to put it in a less complicated form, like
the "Fortunate Observer" era. Right before the 6'30 mark, the alternating guitar and piano
solos develop a deeper jazzy ambience until the guitar alone gets pretty psychedelic, which
makes the whole mood turn a bit denser (just a bit). The last sung section completes the
song's concept in full circle, and then the closing acoustic guitar chords segue into the next
track, 'Move Over, I'm Driving'. Here we witness yet another exercise in Zappa-meets-Happy
The Man, the kind of exercise that we have found in previous album and that the FC
handled with their usual mastery and never ending sensibility. This track incarnates the
very essences of elegance and vivacity: the captivating beauty of the horn arrangements
help the listener to forget the transit of the track's 8 minute span. 'Pasta Fazeuhl' shifts
toward grayish tension while preserving the current doses of energy and musicality intact.
Despite the allusion to the zeuhl genre in the title, it is mostly chamber-rock that champions
this piece's direction: there is so much Univers Zero influence in the passage that goes
from 5'00' to 8'30"? so much, really? but since FC is an American band (yeah, like Grand
Funk Railroad), one can notice a more playful approach to RIO as instigated by older bands
from the USA like Pocket Orchestra or Cartoon. So far, here we have 34 minutes of
progressive grandiosity, and there is still more for the listener to enjoy avidly and bravely.
The three sections of 'Under Wuhu Son' are a real treat. The first section, 'In the Bright
Light', bears a melancholic aura developed consistently by a varied set of arrangements
that comprises bucolic acoustic moods and constrained string and horn arrangements
inundated with delicate elegance. 'Left For Dead', the second section, elaborates yet
another example of chamber-rock, only this time it is more muscular and vibrant, almost
Present-like at times: weirdly beautiful, beautifully weird, great one way or another. Section
# 3 is 'Brace Against The Fall', which tones down the chamber-rock element quite
noticeably and aims for a more straightforward approach to jazz-rock. I can't avoid the
feeling that a rebirth of the "Creatures" days is emerging whenever I listen to this one ? and
hats off to Camiola for his spectacular guitar solo!! 'From The Fence' is the most
accessible piece in the album, but since it lasts 12 minutes it is hardly your condescending
pop song full of radio interplaying and massive consumption potential. This track's basis is
a sort of jazzy ballad on ¾, kind and gentle, somewhat romantic, bearing good vibes with an
extroverted accent. It is from these extroverted undertones that the instrumental journey
delivered by the FC guys delivers a typically progressive emphasis. The album's last 10 ½
minutes are occupied by 'Belgian Boogie Board', a full-frontal RIO piece whose colorful
dynamics and challenging set of tricks and twists create a genuine adventure for the
unafraid listener. Anyway, the playful overtones (no doubt a Zappa thing) provide a joyful
element that remains relevant and defining all through the bizarreness that operates from
beginning to end. This is such a terrific closure for such a bateless musical work: Frogg
Café manages to gain yet another artistic triumph in their résumé. It is hard to imagine to
have someone listening to this album twice in a road, but indeed, listening to it once has
got to be one of the most exciting aesthetical experiences in 2010. One of mine, for sure,
and I gladly put this one in my personal Prog Top 3 without having to wait until next January.

Edited by avestin - September 15 2010 at 19:07