Frog in Boiling Water explained

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

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

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". 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".^[6] 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".

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". Clashs Matthew Mclister found it to be "gloomier, even moodier and even more beautiful than their last" and that it "makes for a fascinating listen". 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".

Spins 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". 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".

Personnel

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

Notes and References

1. Web site: DIIV Provide a Soundtrack For When the Heat Starts to Rise on Frog in Boiling Water Paste Magazine. www.pastemagazine.com. 24 May 2024 . en. June 5, 2024.
2. Web site: DIIV – 'Frog In Boiling Water' review: dense shoegaze ruminates on late-stage capitalism NME. www.nme.com. 29 May 2024 . en. June 5, 2024.
3. Web site: DIIV announce new album Frog in Boiling Water. The Fader. Renshaw. David. February 15, 2024. May 23, 2024.
4. Web site: DIIV release final album preview, "Raining On Your Pillow". The Line of Best Fit. Kelly. Tyler Damara. May 21, 2024. May 23, 2024.
5. Web site: Diiv Announce New Album Frog in Boiling Water, Share New Song "Brown Paper Bag": Listen. Pitchfork. Strauss. Matthew. February 15, 2024. May 22, 2024.
6. Web site: Album of the Week: DIIV Frog in Boiling Water. Stereogum. Tedder. Michael. May 21, 2024. May 23, 2024.