Toy (English Band)
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Toy (stylised as TOY) were an English
indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...
band from
Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...
,
East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...
. They released five albums, an EP and a number of singles. In 2015, the band collaborated with Natasha Khan on the Sexwitch project.


History

The band was formed in 2010 in Brighton by school-friends and former Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong band members, singer/guitarist Tom Dougall (younger brother of Rose Elinor Dougall, formerly of
The Pipettes The Pipettes were a British indie pop girl group formed in 2003 in Brighton by Robert "Monster Bobby" Barry. The group has released two albums, ''We Are the Pipettes'', and ''Earth vs. The Pipettes'' and released numerous singles to support i ...
), guitarist Dominic O'Dair and bassist Maxim "Panda" Barron along with Gloucester born drummer Charlie Salvidge and Spanish keyboard playerBaggs, Michael (2012)
Toy: 'We're already writing our second album'
,
Gigwise.com ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site featuring music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 in ...
, 28 June 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2013
Alejandra Diez. Salvidge had previously presented "The Sixties Show" on Bristol radio station BCFM, and played with punk band Mudfite. Shortly after, the band moved to London and six months later signed to
Heavenly Records Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves, and early singles by Manic Street Preachers. Current Heavenly artists ...
. The band's first live performance was at London venue, The Lexington, in support of The Heartbreaks in December 2010. The band played at festivals in 2011 including
Field Day Field day may refer to: * For the armed forces use and its derivatives, see wiktionary:field day * Field day (agriculture), a trade show * Field Day (amateur radio), an annual amateur radio exercise * Field Day (band), a Canadian pop-punk band fro ...
and supported
The Horrors The Horrors are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea in 2005 by lead vocalist Faris Badwan, guitarist Joshua Hayward, keyboardist and synthesizer player Tom Furse, bassist Rhys Webb, and drummer and percussionist Joe Spurg ...
on their UK autumn tour.Field Day 2011: The Quietus Review
,
The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...
, 11 August 2011, retrieved 15 January 2012
Lidbetter, Liam (2011)
The Horrors/TOY, Brighton, Concorde 2, 24/10/11
", '' The Fly'', 7 November 2011, retrieved 15 January 2012
The Horrors played a big role during the band's first years, supporting and helping them, as Diez stated.Interview: Alejandra from TOY
, entertaim.net, 28 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014
The band's debut single, "Left Myself Behind", was released in 2011 by Heavenly Records, the initial pressing of 100 selling out in a day.WATCH: New Toy Video
,
The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...
, 12 December 2011, retrieved 15 January 2012
It was reissued in January 2012. The single was described by ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' as "excellent...recalls some kind of late-80s/early-90s jam session between Stereolab, Felt and Pulp".Robinson, John (2012)
This Week's New Live Music
, ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'', 14 January 2012, retrieved 15 January 2012
The band were picked as one of ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
''s "100 New Bands You Have to Hear" in January 2012, with Rhys Webb of The Horrors describing them as "the most exciting band to come out last year" and "my favourite band for 2012"."100 New Bands You Have to Hear: UK 2012: Generation Next", ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...
'', 7 January 2012, p. 38
The band's debut album, ''
Toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...
'', was released on 10 September 2012, to critical acclaim. The album was recorded and mixed in two weeks. The band supported the indie rock band
The Vaccines The Vaccines are an English indie rock band, formed in West London in 2010 by Justin Hayward-Young and Freddie Cowan. The band currently consists of Young (lead vocals, guitars), Árni Árnason (bass, vocals), Timothy Lanham (guitars, keys, ...
on their UK Tour in May 2013, which included a date at the 20,000 capacity O2 Arena in London. They announced the release of their second album, '' Join the Dots'' on 14 October 2013. It was released on 9 December in Europe and the UK, and the 17th in the USA. In 2014, the band toured Europe in a nine-week trip including a lot of places outside the usual tour scheme like Ljubljana and Bratislava. At the end of April, they played their biggest show in the UK so far, the Shepherd's Bush Empire. During the summer of 2014 the band played a number of European festivals. The following year, the band continued to perform live sporadically while they continued work on their third record. At the end of August 2015 the band were part of a collaboration with Natasha Khan of
Bat for Lashes Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979), known professionally as Bat for Lashes, is an English singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She has released six studio albums: '' Fur and Gold'' (2006), ''Two Suns'' (2009), '' The Haunt ...
and producer Dan Carey entitled Sexwitch. It consists of a six-track cover album that was recorded in day by Carey and set for release on 25 September. Alejandra Diez announced her departure from the band via their official Facebook page on 23 September 2015, stating personal reasons. Max Oscarnold of The Proper Ornaments (who have previously supported the band on tour) has since joined the band. In August 2016, the band announced their third album and made the song "Fast Silver" available on streaming services. It was followed by the song "I'm Still Believing" supported by a video directed by Bunny Kinney in September. The band's third album ''Clear Shot'' appeared on 28 October 2016 and was produced by David Wrench. The Guardian called the album "another fine effort from a band who are gradually building up an absorbing catalogue". The LP release included the EP "Spellbound", was followed by a tour in support in November through to December. The band left Heavenly Records in 2018.


Musical style

The band's sound has been described as a combination of
psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
,
krautrock Krautrock (also called , German for ) is a broad genre of experimental rock that developed in Germany in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It originated among artists who blended elements of psychedelic rock, avant-garde composition, and electron ...
,
shoegaze Shoegaze (originally called shoegazing and sometimes conflated with dream pop) is a subgenre of indie rock, indie and alternative rock characterized by its ethereal mixture of obscured vocals, guitar distortion (music), distortion and effects, a ...
and
post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of music that emerged in late 1977 in the wake of punk rock. Post-punk musicians departed from punk's fundamental elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a broader, more experiment ...
.The best new acts to watch out for in 2012
", ''
Time Out London ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 333 cities in 59 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...
'', retrieved 15 January 2012


Discography


Albums

*''
Toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and p ...
'' (2012), UK No. 48 *'' Join the Dots'' (2013), UK No. 126 *''Clear Shot'' (2016) *'' Happy in the Hollow'' (2019), UK No. 71 *''Songs of Consumption'' (2019)


Singles

*"Left Myself Behind b/w Clock Chime" (2011), Heavenly *"Motoring b/w When I Went Back" (April 2012), Heavenly *"Dead & Gone b/w
Andrew Weatherall Andrew James Weatherall (6 April 1963 – 17 February 2020) was an English musician, DJ, songwriter, producer and remixer. His career took him from being a DJ in the acid house movement of the late 1980s to being a remixer of tracks by Happy M ...
remix" (August 2012), Heavenly *"Lose My Way b/w Bright White Shimmering Sun" (September 2012), Heavenly *"Make It Mine E.P." (December 2012), Heavenly *"Heart Skips a Beat" (March 2013), Heavenly *"Join the Dots" (October 2013), Heavenly *"Sequence One" (October 2018), Tough Love Records


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:TOY 2010 establishments in England English indie rock groups Heavenly Recordings artists Musical groups established in 2010 Rock music groups from Brighton and Hove