Animated Amphibians: Frog Eyes

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MONTREAL, CANADA'S FROG EYES are a little bit inaccessible. At least by phone. "We don't have a cell phone yet," said lead singer and songwriter Carey Mercer from a land line somewhere in Texas. "I mean, I bought one but I can't figure out how to activate it."

Once you get him on the phone Mercer is pretty loquacious, but he's still hard to wrap your head around.

Frog Eyes songs are frantic but bookish, often splicing surreal takes on Russian literature with Looney Tunes rhythms and reams of spastic vocals. In conversation, Mercer is a little more reserved — but it only took one question to set him off for a full 20 minutes.

"Change is one of the central questions. Should you change? Is there artistic merit in revolutionizing your sound?" pondered Mercer. "On this record [the new "Tears of the Valedictorian] I think we were getting back to our strengths. I think I fluctuate between embracing and negating my central strengths. On "Folded Palm" [from 2004] we thought, 'Let's really try to go into some new territory,' and I don't hold it in the same esteem. But that's really a question of, Do you have to make bad records to make good records?"

When asked to explain, Mercer sets sail into a discussion of one of his major interests: hero myth.

"It's sort of mock heroism — you know — the journey that heroes have to make," explained the singer. "They have to f**k themselves up, descend into some sort of underworld. It's a neat aspect of heroic literature; something that I'd like to apply to myself. I think everyone who makes records wants some sort of narrative.

"But that's ridiculous," confessed Mercer. "It's also ridiculous to plug in a guitar and play in front of 150 people — but that's the great paradox."

According to Mercer, this paradox figures heavily in the title of "Tears of the Valedictorian."

"One of my best friends was the valedictorian and he broke down and wept," he explained. "In that act there was a parallel to what I do — that you can be in this very formal and oppressive environment, but still feel powerful emotion."

"That's what rock music is like — it's a very formal and ritualistic part of culture but it's also really liberating and celebratory when you're doing it," said Mercer. "I guess I despise it in it's abstraction but love it in its practice."

» The Rock and Roll Hotel, 1353 H St. NE; with Alex Delivery and Chris Garneau, Wed., 9 p.m., $12; 202-388-7625.

Written by Express contributor Aaron Leitko

Photos courtesy Absolutely Kosher/Force Field PR