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"II, the accurately titled second album, is purported to be part of a trilogy. It's also a step up from The Kings of Frog Island, the band's debut. Considering how good that album was, that's no small feat. The show begins with a shaggy-haired, psychedelic garage rocker. The next track is reminiscent of Josiah, singer/guitarist Mat Bethancourt's other, soon-to-be-defunct group. It's lock-step groove, thick distortion, and frantic, emotional soloing make it another highlight in an album full of them. That's the best part about II - you can pick any track at random and dig right in. You're guaranteed to a healthy dose of classic, no bullshit rock n roll. The final chapter to the Kings of Frog Island saga can't come soon enough."
"Yeah, as much as I enjoyed Josiah and was sad to hear they are no more, Mat Bethancourt has really come up with a winner here. KOFI's elements of early Monster Magnet and QOTSA aren't rip-offs at all. The variety of the tracks on this makes it so easy to keep playing over and over that it's become one of my most-listened to albums of 2008, despite my only having it for a month or so."
"2 is bloody awesome! Like a true distillation of the stoner rock ethic, The Kings Of Frog Island reference Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Hawkwind, but manage to wedge it all into their own surreal universe of toads and amphibians. It’s as if The Kings of Frog Island have taken the brevity and wit of QOTSA (circa their self-titled debut and Rated R) and allied it to the raw weight and sonic depth of prime period Kyuss (Welcome To Sky Valley, Blues For The Red Sun), while seeming to carry on from where …And The Circus Leaves Town left off. 2 also takes the necessary step of widening the musical palette of stoner rock somewhat by adding an Eastern sounding string section (famous sessioneer Gavin Wright has worked with Julian Cope, Page and Plant and many others), a surprisingly capable vocal section and an array of instrumentation that marks out The Kings Of Frog Island as innovators and traditionalists simultaneously."
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