“Refusing to revel in his own chaos, he proves it’s possible to turn even short compositions into suites”: The emo pioneer who suddenly went prog

Quincy, MA - August 19: Jeremy Enigk, of Sunny Day Real Estate, performs during the first day of the In Between Days Festival at the Veterans Memorial Stadium. (Photo by Vincent Alban/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Finding himself at a forced turning point in his life, Sunny Day Real Estate vocalist Jeremy Enigk embraced the challenge of crisis and, in 1996, released his debut solo album Return Of The Frog Queen. To everyone’s surprise, it turned out to be an impressively progressive work, as we explained in 2018.

It’s somewhat surprising to regard Return Of The Frog Queen as a progressive album, because it comes from a man who built his reputation in Sunny Day Real Estate – pioneers of the emo movement in the early 90s.

When they split up in 1995, frontman Jeremy Enigk took something of a left turn, and in the process came up with this multi-faceted solo album, released the following year.

Much has been made of the fact that it was recorded soon after Enigk had converted to Christianity, and there’s certainly an influence from that situation on his lyrical stance here. You can sense he’s reaching out, striving to come to terms with an inward emotional turmoil.

But while it’s easy to interpret songs like Lizard and Explain as introspective – bringing into focus the his new perspective on life – it shouldn’t be seen as a record that’s only about a religious epiphany. You can still enjoy the nine compositions without having any interest in Enigk’s worldview or belief system.

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The music here is dark, but never bleak. The use of a string section and wind instruments provides a depth of tone that draws the listener in and keeps them absorbed.

The restive spirit that tells of a man searching for answers makes the songs intriguing and mature – but also allows plenty of room to manoeuvre. Enigk never clutters the sound, and in doing so gives himself space for exploration.

There are times when Syd Barrett and Peter Hammill come to mind. Yet, while both those giants could sometimes revel in the chaos of their own creations, Enigk rejects that approach and uses his personal attempts to find his way out of self-doubt to forge a distinct artistic path.

No song on Return Of The Frog Queen is lengthy – Shade And The Black Hat is the longest, and that’s under five minutes – and the brevity allows Enigk a chance to show it’s possible to turn even short compositions into suites if you have the requisite musical temperament.

There’s a wide spectrum of soundscapes used throughout, which traverse classical, jazz and melodic routes. At its best – on the title track, Carnival and Shade – this is a remarkably articulate album that’s full of progressive aspiration.

Malcolm Dome had an illustrious and celebrated career which stretched back to working for Record Mirror magazine in the late 70s and Metal Fury in the early 80s before joining Kerrang! at its launch in 1981. His first book, Encyclopedia Metallica, published in 1981, may have been the inspiration for the name of a certain band formed that same year. Dome is also credited with inventing the term "thrash metal" while writing about the Anthrax song Metal Thrashing Mad in 1984. With the launch of Classic Rock magazine in 1998 he became involved with that title, sister magazine Metal Hammer, and was a contributor to Prog magazine since its inception in 2009. He died in 2021.

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