Written by Ryan Watson
Earlier this year Frog released the album “1000 Variations on the Same Song”, a project born out of lead singer, guitarist and pianist Daniel Bateman finding himself stuck in an incredibly monotonous songwriting loop. Instead of trying to break out of the had found himself in, he leaned into it and in turn he ended up doing the exact opposite. Despite its title The album’s songs are actually very varied in song structure and melody with the only similarities being the barebones instrumentals consisting of nothing more than drums, bass, and either piano or guitar(occasionally both). Considering the gap between “1000 Variations on the Same Song” and the band’s previous album “GROG”, there was expected to be a considerable wait until their next project. That was until August 27th when the Band announced that “THE COUNT” would be coming out September 19th , 2025, only 7 months after their last album, with the first single “BITTEN BY MY LOVE VAR. XI”. The title immediately signifies this new album as a continuation of their last album. “THE COUNT” still follows the last album’s theme of not actually being 1000 variations on the same song and instead being 10 more songs that are not really the same at all and are actually very different from each other. In fact the songs are even more different from each other than they were on the last album.
The album opens with the first single “BITTEN BY MY LOVE VAR. XI” which is a very simple and quaint and simple opener consisting of droning organ, sparsely placed piano chords, and jazzy drums falling in and out of the foreground throughout the song. At nearly 6 min the song manages to keep interesting using these few elements. Bateman’s stacked vocals complement the transylvanian instrumental by wanting this girl who he’s bitten with his love to “come back to his coffin” like he’s a lovesick vampire.
This hauntingly beautiful intro is followed up with “SAX-A-MA-PHONE VAR XII” is much more straightforward with Bateman talking about the girl he’s getting with who’s man is not home and not a lot more than that. The keys and drums are immediately more present and have a lot more energy on the song creating a fun catchy little pop jam. This also is the first, but not last, track where Bateman starts rapping which on paper sounds like the worst sounding thing ever, but he somehow makes it work without it being too out of place.
Bateman’s iconic falsetto returns in full force on the next track “GIRL WITH A PROBLEM VAR. XIII” which is, for the most part, just a quintessential frog song. It has Bateman reflecting on a long past relationship in his falsetto with a simple but fun instrumental in the background. On the bridge of the song he says “My name is Cam and this is the last chorus” because in that place he wanted Cam’ ron to be on the song but was unable to get him.
On the next song “COME COME COME VAR. XIV” Bateman’s rapping is in full force with bars like “And we’re slanging China white up out the bando” and “I keep it strapped up all the time like Rambo”. This is soundtracked by everything you’d expect from a frog song: simple drums and simple keys. Daniel has stated that he listened to a lot of kodak black during the making of the last album and it seems that that might be starting to show through. The flexing continues on the chorus of the song where Bateman states he’s “Hot just like I came up out the toaster” and his haters are “mad we came up like we s’posed to”.
“SPANISH ARMADA VAR. XV” marks the first appearance of guitar on the album, which is a surprise for Frog considering their previous work being very guitar focused. It keeps a steady feeling throughout the song and is just a fun little quirky Frog tune. This song is probably one of my favorites on the album as it is extremely catchy and just really fun and easy to listen to. If you haven’t listened to anything on this album, this is where I would recommend you start, it’s probably one of the less freaky and out there songs on the album but still weird enough to be a Frog song.
“BARUCH ATTA (IN THE MIDDLE SONG) VAR. XVI” starts off as just a quaint little piano ballad with Bateman pouring his heart out over simple drums and chords. The song slowly builds for the first 30 seconds until, out of nowhere, every part of the song kicks into full gear. Bateman is yelling passionately about his lover, the keys are more aggressive, and the drums are creating a nice jazzy groove. The song doesn’t stay on this note forever though. After each chorus, everything drops out to let Bateman play some beautiful piano for a bit and it’s a really nice change of pace and makes the song a very interesting listen.
In a complete contrast to the last song, “MARIAH VAR XVII” comes in with a bang. It starts out with Bateman slamming on the piano while screaming at the top of his lungs about how this girl won’t tell him he’s funny or that his lyrics are fire. Outside of the chorus the song takes some pretty wacky instrumental turns and ends up sounding like a Vince Guaraldi peanuts song by the end. But the song is once again held together by a funky driving drum beat and the occasional verses from Bateman about him pushing 40 and that he’s “got that dough”.
“CHELSEA PIERS VAR. XVIII” is a fun little song about Bateman asking this girl Chelsea to come with him to get beers and go to a luncheon before eventually opening up and admitting his feelings for this girl and that he’s even written songs about her. Instrumentally, the song is held together by a driving piano part and has it’s pace moved around by the drums this time, which is usually reserved for whatever instrument Daniel is playing whether it be piano, guitar, or both.
“CAROLINE VAR. XIX” is probably one of the most complete and polished song on the album and is most definitely my favorite. It feels like it could fit perfectly into the tracklist of their 2023 album “GROG”. It features Bateman at his lowest point on the album so far. While most of the album has Batman having a lot of fun and talking very loosely about love, this song has Bateman at his most reminiscent and lovesick he’s been in a while. The feelings are similar to their track “Ur Still Mine” with both songs having Daniel talking about a love that has long since passed and talking to that person after a long time. It’s a very beautiful yet gut wrenching confession from Bateman and is a well enjoyed emotional high on the album.
The album finishes off with “WITH ANOTHER GUY VAR. XX”, which has Bateman at his calmest and most intimate with him almost whispering at the beginning of the song and eventually reaching his normal singing volume later in the track. His vocals are initially surrounded by arpeggiating pianos that create a sort of whimsy to his sadness. Behind the pianos, the drums slowly build and build throughout the song starting off with a drum hit every few bars to eventually splaying over the pianos that initially swarmed the ears.
Overall, Frog crafted a pretty interesting album that feels like a welcome follow up to their previous album, staying true to what made that album good while still having the courage to venture out and try out ideas the two man band hasn’t really ever visited before. Even though it’s not a masterpiece or the best album in Frog’s discography, “THE COUNT” is still a fun time and a welcome addition to Frog’s growing catalog.
