Toy’s new record, “Songs of Consumption”, is an eight song collection of unique interpretations of songs that have directly inspired the band, and had some influence on their most recent record, the critically acclaimed Happy in the Hollow. Impressively, all eight songs were self-produced and recorded in home studios.
The idea was originally birthed when the band recorded four covers for the bonus 7″s that came with the Dinked and Rough Trade versions of the last album. 3 of those songs feature here alongside 5 new recordings completed last month, which comprise tracks by Stooges, Amanda Lear, Nico, The Troggs, Serge Gainsborough, Soft Cell, John Barry and Pet Shop Boys / Elvis / Willy Nelson (depending on how you know the song).
Another psych-rock gem of an album from Toy, one of the few remaining genre acts that haven’t faded into obscurity since the revival almost a decade ago? Well, not quite. What they warned us about with “Happy In The Hollow” – the track that preceded this long form – is now inescapable.
A band that have discovered a sharper, less forgiving edge wield this powerful, streamlined pop sword and do some real damage. The fact “Songs Of Consumption” is a covers album only makes the stylistic direction more pronounced. If you’ve heard the originals of tracks like the Stooges’ “Down On The Street” or the almost-unknown Nico bomb “Sixty/Forty” you appreciate what’s been done here even more. Respectively dancefloor electronica and exotic, dreamy soundscapes in those two cases. Reinventions by the reinvented.
The Fat Angel Sings 