The Croaks – Menagerie

Recent singles from Boston Folk purveyors The Croaks have been building to the release of an EP, fitting like puzzle pieces into a short format stunner that’s rife with highs and lows, drama and tenderness. The band opens Menagerie with fanciful flute work on “Teddy Pom-Pom” but quickly swaps from Ren-Faire lacing to something much darker, with Haley Wood’s violin sawing at the speakers with increased urgency. Sparring with fuzz bass, the song rounds up urgent, anxious folk-pop with a deft touch. I’ve already talked about the band’s single “Grey Girl” a cut that pushes the folk further into the forest, solidifying them as something akin to White Magic or Espers, but it sits nicely among the singles. Earlier songs “The Ballad of Tenderblood” and “Poppy” round out the record, with the former adding some levity to the collection, aloft on Autumnal breezes. The latter gives the EP a bittersweet sendoff, dipping into the band’s jazz touches. The song looks longingly towards Pentangle before twisting the knife with a howl of anguish to set us on our way.

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