Return of the Frog Queen is a solo album recorded by Jeremy Enigk

Jeremy Enigk

Jeremy Enigk is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist known for being the front man of the Seattle band Sunny Day Real Estate.-Biography:...

 while on hiatus from his post as singer of Sunny Day Real Estate

Sunny Day Real Estate

Sunny Day Real Estate is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington. In the 1990s, the group expanded upon the grunge style that was popular in the local scene to make a more melodic sound. While not the first band to be classified as emo, they were instrumental in establishing the genre. In...

. It was recorded with a 21-piece orchestra

Orchestra

An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...

 and released in 1996. It has a slower and quieter sound than Sunny Day Real Estate's often-bombastic albums.

The album was recorded after Enigk converted to Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

; this conversion had brought on the disbanding of Sunny Day Real Estate until 1997, when they released How It Feels to Be Something On

How It Feels to Be Something On

How It Feels to Be Something On is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Sunny Day Real Estate, and the first since their 1997 comeback. It was released September 8th, 1998...

. The sound of that record furthers the mellower sound developed on Return of the Frog Queen.

According to the 1997 Sub Pop mail-order catalog, Lou Barlow

Lou Barlow

Louis Knox Barlow is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Deep Wound, Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion. Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music in the late 1980s and early 1990s...

, of fellow Sub Pop band Sebadoh

Sebadoh

Sebadoh is an American indie rock band, formed in 1986 in Westfield, Massachusetts by Eric Gaffney and Dinosaur Jr bass player Lou Barlow. Along with such bands as Pavement and Guided by Voices, Sebadoh helped pioneer lo-fi music, a style of indie rock characterized by low-fidelity recording...

, cited Frog Queen as his favorite album of 1996.

Track listing

1. "Abegail Anne" - 3:01
2. "Return of the Frog Queen" - 3:30
3. "Lewis Hollow" - 1:58
4. "Lizard" - 3:14
5. "Carnival" - 4:03
6. "Call Me Steam" - 2:48
7. "Explain" - 3:29
8. "Shade and the Black Hat" - 4:58
9. "Fallen Heart" - 2:22

Personnel

• Joe Bichsel - Cello
• Anna Doak - Bass (Upright)
• Jeremy Enigk - Bass, Guitar, Piano, Arranger, Drums, Harp, Harpsichord, Vocals, Engineer, Design
• Carlos Flores - Violin
• Jeni Foster - Harp
• William Goldsmith - Drums
• Fred Hawkinson - Trombone (Bass)
• Cathy Lauer - Assistant Engineer
• Greg Lyons - Trumpet
• Felicia McFall - Viola
• Robert Newland - Flute, Piccolo
• Joe LeBlanc - Clarinet
• Mark Nichols - Arranger, Conductor
• Charles Peterson - Photography
• Beverly Reese - Percussion, Glockenspiel
• Laura Sperling - Flute, Piccolo
• Chris Stover - Trombone
• Hank Trotter - Design
• Sam Williams - Viola
• Craig Williamson - Producer, Engineer, Mixing
• Ken Wright - Violin
• Curry Wyrick - Assistant Engineer