The Swamp King Jam

Original Release Date: 11/16/3832

Ten years, almost to the day, from the release of their heel-turn on Row Bot, The Swamp King Jam roared (or ribbited) back into the mainstream with a trippy hop into another dimension. Inspired by their experience in the sun-soaked valleys and fly-infested streets of Frogopolis, it was a landmark (and an extended stay) that changed the band forever. Far from their home of steamy Anura Hollow, the band was shaking off the failure of their third album, Nymphaea, and traded the swamp for the open air. Frogopolis was where the rich and famous, and the poor and infamous, found redemption. Awash with illegal substances, all-night parties, and plenty of other amphibians to mingle with, Bendix and crew rented a home in the Coqui Hills, overlooking the yellow fluorescent lights of excess, attempting to absorb their beauty without being sucked into the maelstrom. Work on their fourth album, originally titled Hoppin' Back In, was slow-going. Melodies just were not there, and there was a sense of boredom leaking through each take. A fateful electrical outage forced the band into a local hotel for the evening, the establishment's iconic neon lily pad often drawing their attention during recording. The Chateau Mallorca was in much decay at the time: plumbing issues, bedbugs, a rash of unsolved murders, and high staff turnover. Checking in to their temporary cobweb-infested digs was easy enough; there were few reservations, and the manager did not seem to mind them setting up their equipment to record in their rooms, the hallway, the ballroom, whatever suited them. Plus, there were free bugs to eat everywhere! With their bellies full and their minds wandering once more, they began to notice strange occurrences. Doors to nowhere, staircases that seemed to extend far behind the height of the hotel, ribbits echoing down the hallways. Guests who would greet them at the not-as-yet-shut-down-by-the-health-department restaurant on the ground floor would disappear at night, replaced with new guests in outdated garb spouting defunct vernacular. Soon, the hotel began to spiral, the pool and gym suddenly on the opposite side of the lobby, the elevator no longer self-service but replaced with a stocky attendant who dared not speak. Putrid lake water seemed to leak from beneath closed doors, and the lights filled with tadpoles and detritus. One would think that fear would have taken over the band, driving them from the Chateau Mallorca and all the way back to Anura Hollow, but they had come too far, had fallen too low after their disappointing third album, to turn back now. Fear was no longer in the equation, and it shines through beautifully on their fourth, and final, album, Hotel Frogifornia, a retelling, of sorts, of their months-long experience inside the maze-like hotel. Expanding on the sounds they pioneered on Row Bot, they evolved, essentially, by devolving. Back were the twangy undercurrents of the swamp, shepherding forth the hero of the album, an unnamed amphibian looking for a place to stay the night. He stumbles upon the Hotel Frogifornia, and his life is changed forever. He is welcomed into a world of excess and glamour and made to partake in terrifying festivities, all while his home is constantly on his mind. Does he survive, dear Audionauts? Or does he succumb? For Bendix and The Swamp King Jam, the melodies here answer that question. When he finally frees himself of the bonds of infinite success, he takes stock of the changing space that is the Hotel itself, revealing multiple timelines and different beings he could become. In the end, he chooses himself, because those around him had become too familiar. And, perhaps, for The Swamp King Jam, this was the case, too. Perhaps, they had become too familiar with success, and the trappings of their former life were the only formula for true success. Due to Bendix's obsession with chocolate-covered flies, he tragically ate himself into a life-threatening coma, afraid that the success of Hotel Frogifornia would froggy-hole them once again. The group disbanded after his funeral, vowing never to make music again under their former name. It saddens us to imagine what a follow-up album might have sounded like and whether their stay at Chateau Mallorca had been a curse rather than an inspirational blessing. We advise checking into the Hotel Forgifornia, but only for a single night, for those that creep and devour will be lurking, waiting for you to get lost within the walls of excess.

Side A

1. Hotel Frogifornia

2. New Toad In Town

3. Leap For Your Life!

4. Pretty Gnats All in a Row

Side B

1. The Dog Policeman

2. Hide What You're Confessing To

3. Unicursal High Score

4. Overlooked