Frou Frou are an English duo who formed in 2001. The duo consisted of Imogen Heap and Guy Sigsworth, both of whom wrote the lyrics and played instruments on the tracks, while Heap provided the vocals.
They only released one album, Details (2002), which spawned four singles: "Breathe In", "Must Be Dreaming", "Let Go" and "It's Good To Be In Love". Despite its critical acclaim, the band saw the album's meager financial returns as a disappointment.
In 2003, they announced an amicable split, reforming briefly the following year to record a cover of "Holding Out for a Hero" for Shrek 2. A Colbert Bump from their song "Let Go" appearing in the film Garden State spurred on more uses and recognition of their music throughout the 2000s.
The band stayed inactive until 2018, when they embarked on a reunion tour in conjunction with a solo Heap tour. On April 19, 2019, a live recording of one of two singles unreleased at the time of their breakup ("Guitar Song") was released — marking their first song release in 15 years.
Frou Frou provides examples of the following tropes:
- Alien Abduction: "Shh"
- Anti-Love Song: "Close Up"
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Bonus Material: Details included one, "Old Piano", in its international release. - Break Up Song: "Hear Me Out", very much from the perspective of a still-hurting narrator.I joined a queue on your answer phone
And all I am is holding breath.
Just pick up, I know you're there.
Can't you hear?
I'm not myself. - The Cover Changes the Meaning: Their cover of "Holding Out For A Hero" turns a song about wanting a Knight In Shining Armour into a song that asks if there are even any heroes left in the world.
- Cover Version: They covered "Holding Out For A Hero", which was played during the end credits of Shrek 2.
- Downer Ending: Details is an album full of light, peppy songs (excepting "Psychobabble") that ends with the slow, tragic "The Dumbing Down of Love".
- Exactly What It Says on the Tin: "Old Piano". Take a guess as to what instrument it's built around.
- Non-Appearing Title: "Close Up", "Old Piano", "Flicks", "Psychobabble".
- One-Word Title: Details and its songs "Shh" and "Flicks".
- Sampling: Brian Eno's "An Ending (Ascent)" can be heard in the background of the chorus of "Hear Me Out", and by extent it also provided the song with its main melody (although it was at the very least interpolated).
- Self-Backing Vocalist: Heap achieves this with multitracks extensively in their music.
- Shout-Out: The bridge of "Hear Me Out" ends with the line "Is that your final answer?"
- Singing Simlish: They really liked this trope.
- Single Stanza Song: "Old Piano" only consists of four lines, and a recurring two-word motif ("Oh, well").
- Surreal Music Video: "Must Be Dreaming
".
