Boo Frog’s lyrical garage oblivion is stamped with just a kiss of the hoodoo, enough to spellbind even the most skeptical of our city’s storied punk scene. Not that Chris Newman needs to employ folk magic to impress. The legacy of his former band, Napalm Beach, is one whose influence will not soon fade away. Along with Dead Moon’s Fred Cole and the Wipers’ Greg Sage, Newman helped create the Portland punk offshoot that prefaced the ’90s movement we all know as “grunge.” But those days were long ago, and since then Newman’s been through the mill, even spending a few years in Tarp Town, San Francisco. Meanwhile, his music has only gotten better. It’s evolved into a distinctly swampy version of itself, as though it’s been dredged through the pits and rescued at just the last moment: nearly fossilized and slowly dripping. CHRIS CANTINO
Portland Mercury Staff Pick, “Up & Coming” 29 September 2011

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(Funhouse) You’ve gotta have old-fashioned, Monster Squad–style Wolfman ‘nads to name a song “Bong Hit,” especially if you go the full distance by starting the song with a bubbling sound effect and ensuring the lyrics are entirely about doing hits from a bong (“Bong hit/It’s the shit”) without even making the most perfunctory gestures toward a high-minded metaphor or two. But Snow Bud and the Flower People have ‘nads to spare; they’re as subtle as a Cheech and Chong movie, but they back up all the weed talk by being a super-solid garage-rock psychedelic band. They’re like Reverend Horton Heat’s younger stoner brother, barreling out of the garage to bring weed and hot licks to the people. PAUL CONSTANT

Garage Band revisited ‘zine / Radio 103.1 / soubielle / february 2011 / France

Kind of like some Black Keys stuff. A little Tom Waits-y. Alt-indie-blues, with what I can only think to call “world music” elements (even though that’s basically a crock). One singer also reminds me of Will from Grabass, which I like. I was a little skeptical at first, but it picks up as it goes on, and gets a bit spacey/trippy. Not that bad. — Joe Evans III

The music is raw and timeless, psychedelic and trippy: all fuzzed guitars and mean gruff male vocals and Dead Moon-flecked female. One suspects there’s only a minimum of musicians playing, because Boo Frog clearly understand the way silence and the space between the silences can unsettle. There’s no bass. Why would there be? Why would there be? Reverb, as ever, is their queen and castle and legacy and floating jetsam pushing aside the barges of woe.

…This seems like everything The Racounteurs could be, but are not in any shape or form. I kept expecting ‘Crushed’ to break into 13th Floor Elevators’ ‘You’re Gonna Miss Me’. Boo Frog are hard. Boo Frog are heavy. Boo Frog crush.

Read the entire review (with links) here: Collapse Board: Song of the day – 128: Boo Frog

Okay, so the Cramps made their greatest records with no dang bass player – they didn’t need one! Boo Frog operates on a similar premise, I think. There’s so much great guitar here it takes awhile before the listener even notices there’s a rhythm instrument that’s usually there that ain’t. I haven’t even said a word about the songs – if these were JUST Chris Newman songs, it’d be a great album. But add Erika Meyer’s songwriting, guitar playing & singing into the equation – AND Paul Vega’s drumming (and great carny/Suicide/Jim-Carroll-esque vox on “Mind Bender”), and we’ve got a truly excellent album here. Erika’s “Anabasis” could be a riot grrrl outtake from 1994 (I hope the band doesn’t edit THIS part of the review out – I mean it as a compliment!), and then “Jake the Alligator Man”, complete with theremin from engineer deluxe Mike Lastra, is a psychedelic masterpiece that would fit in between the Seeds & the Lollipop Shoppe on a 60s mixtape. Seems like Erika sings a lot about dead people… and hey! Do I know “Bad Pam?” Newman has been making music for Portland & beyond for the last 30 years now, and will hopefully continue for 30 more – this record proves that his best work isn’t behind him yet. He’s been on a writing/recording/playing-live rampage the last 4 or 5 years, and this newest band of his, Boo Frog, raises the ante further. Glad to know you guys, and glad to keep seeing you live.

There’s a video from the session this album came from at Smegma that’s pretty cool – more contributions from renaissance man Mike Lastra – check it out

Boo Frog/Better Than the Rest, Skullman Records CD 84502-40389-3, 2010.re