Toy - Rough Trade East, London, 11/12/2013

  by Anthony Strutt

published: 27 / 1 / 2014

intro

In the first of two record store appearances in a month to promote their new album 'Join the Dots', Anthony Strutt watches young psychedelic-influenced rockers Toy play a breathtaking show at Rough Trade East...

Toy have grown massively since I last saw them here in the same Rough Trade record shop, launching their debut album a mere fifteen months beforehand. They have grown more into their songs and their grooves. Tonight's set sees the band playing to a much bigger home crowd then they did last time, while the new album ‘Join the Dots’ is a big progression from ‘Toy’ which came out in September 2012. ‘Fall Out of Love’, which closes the new album, opens the set, and is much more of a garage rock number live and much tighter in sound, while the closing section of the song edges towards the gaps that Ride used so well in their song structures. ‘As We Turn’ is more 1960’s-flavoured, a trippy psychedelic number which in Toy's hands makes me melt. ‘Endlessly’ has more atmosphere within its first few notes than most bands have in their lifetime. As the picture gets bigger, the frames of the song expand, building up its own wall of sound. ‘You Won't Be the Same’ is slower, and comes over like a mid-1980’s Creation Records number before it changes direction and runs away at a super-fast pace. ‘Join The Dots (Full Version)’ ends the all too short a set, but what a song! It is one of my favourite tracks of the year. It builds and builds, teases you little by little, edges you on, gets the heart beating faster, plays on your emotions then the song explodes and takes you away with it. If only more bands were this good! God Bless the Toy.

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