Frogmouth
Identity Thief
The story of “Identity Thief”, the debut full length album from Austin’s eclectic 4-piece alt-rock outfit Frogmouth, began in 2023. Jesse Hodges (vocals/guitar) and the newly joined lead guitarist Jay Ziegler began bouncing demos and ideas back and forth for what would eventually become the opening banger “Easy Lies” while their EP “Humor Me” was still in production. However work didn’t begin in earnest until the beginning of 2024, when the band took time off gigging to buckle down and write new material. By March, they were able to debut 3 new songs at a series of unofficial SXSW gigs - the Cheap Trick inspired Easy Lies, the heavier grunge-influenced Sleeping Dogs, and the plaintive ‘Strays’.
The following months were spent in the woodshed. As drummer Jordan Goldman took time off to be with his new child, Jay, Jesse and bassist Angus Barrs got together in a series acoustic sessions to pen and polish the college rock anthem “Would You Believe”, the dub-inspired “Imposter Syndrome”, and the alt-country influenced anti-love song “How Could I Not”. These new songs debuted to a soaked and enthusiastic audience at the almost rained out Austin Summer Fest in July.
By August, both “Long In the Tooth”, a punk influenced ode to a father gone too soon and “Another Body Count”, a steeped in 90s alternative guitar rock vocally ambitious tale of an existential crisis in the middle of a bank heist were ready to roll, and the band decided to enter the studio with Jason Richard at Clockright Studio in South Austin.
Over the next few months and numerous sessions, the band managed between day jobs and gigs to lay down the tracks that would become the completely self-financed Identity Thief. In early December, they went back into the studio to complete their most ambitious track on the album, “Oleander”. With lyrics co-written by Barrs and Hodges, the tune is evocative of a simpler and better time, while the music is a departure from the rest of the album, prompting Richard to exclaim upon hearing the demo “Was I just listening to New Order and then Zappa walked in!!!?”
Mixing was finished early January 2025, and Howie Weinberg was brought on to master the finished product. Frogmouth are releasing 4 singles leading up to the full album release on March 21, 2025.
Regarding the title - “Identity Thief” originally suggested by Jordan Goldman’s son Sebastian, with no obvious connection to the songs that had been written. Upon reflection however, it became apparent that themes of losing oneself (Imposter Syndrome, Strays), searching for oneself (Long In the Tooth) or straight-up thievery (Another Body Count) ran strongly throughout the entire album, and thus the name was quickly adopted.
