Return of the Frog Queen
With the ambitious and ferventReturn of the Frog Queen, the former Sunny Day Real Estate frontman plays everything from guitar and drums to harpsichord. Then he surrounds himself with a strings, woodwinds, and brass. Lyrically, he's elliptic; musically, he strays from the pretty pop to a kind of sober psychedelia. Ultimately, he clearly feels the need to make a grand statement. Of course, grandeur is often delusional, and big, as often as not, is merely bloated in its infancy. With this undeniably enchanting album, however, one can't help but wonder what's next for Enigk. And that in itself is impressive. He's upped the ante enough that we can anxiously anticipate his failures as well as his achievements.--Steven Stolder