Toy — Happy in the Hollow

Toy, The Horrors’ gloomier younger brother, have been guilty of not living up to the promises that their self-titled debut deafeningly announced back in September 2012. Since then, 2013’s Join The Dots and 2016’s Clear Shot felt too easy, resting in-between mechanical krautrock rhythms and swirling shoegaze. Although very ‘in vogue’ over the last seven years, Toy never struck the balance between great songwriting and spectacular walls of sound that their first full-length managed.

However, Happy in the Hollow feels like a watershed moment for the Brighton band. Having split with Heavenly Records in 2018, signing with Tough Love and then releasing their first self-produced record, Happy in the Hollow was always going to be a make-or-break album.

The first track, ‘Sequence One’ instantly feels more direct than anything on their last two releases, maintaining the fingerprints of their well-documented influences, but with a greater emphasis on melody and a much more confident and convincing vocal performance from Tom Dougall. This song is emblematic of the album generally, as melody seems to have been the key driving force behind much of the songwriting on Happy in the Hollow. This is refreshing to hear, and gives the band a vitality that hasn’t been present since 2012.

There are still moments where Tom’s thin and ghostly vocals can’t quite go toe to toe with the rest of the band’s instrumentation, such as on the track ‘Energy’, where the rattling pummel of Charlie Salvidge’s drumming and the angular post-punk stylings of the guitar line make the vocal performance seem rather limp. On the song ‘Strangulation Day’, the sustained synth notes allow the vocals to take center stage, but they are just not quite strong enough to carry the song. Mercifully, this is one of the shorter tracks on the album.

However, this record is definitely a step in the right direction for the band. The focus on melody has bolstered both the jangle-pop sensibility of tracks like ‘Mechanism’ and ‘You Make Me Forget Myself’, as well as the extended soundscapes in ‘Jolt Awake’ and ‘The Willo’. The latter track reveals a new side of the band’s sound, taking influences from sixties and seventies folk rock bands that give the album much more focus, reigning in the slightly more indulgent psychedelic freak-outs that they were guilty of on previous efforts. 

Happy in the Hollow is ultimately the documentation of a band finding a more unique and definitive sound that relies slightly less on wearing their influences on their proverbial sleeve. Stepping into uncharted territory, both personally and musically, has reignited that spark that many saw when the band first erupted onto the scene. Is it flawed? Yes, but Happy in the Hollow has a claim to being the band’s most coherent and engaging release to date, proving we’re not quite finished playing with this particular toy just yet.

Curious newcomers should seek out Toy’s self-titled album TOY, their single ‘Left Myself Behind’, and the ‘Make It Mine’ EP. Happy in the Hollow is available for streaming and purchase here.

Words by Jack Dice

II nøthing II — higeki

The ungenerous among us would describe higeki as background music. And on paper, that's exactly what it is. Narcotic, downtempo beats lift spectral horn samples into life. Delicate, modal keyboard phrases sing from the back of the room. There's a sleepy easiness to it all.

But it's deceptively melodic and full of rich textures. The sheer craft and attention to detail makes you lean in; savour every second. That's what keeps you up. Figuring how washes of funk, vaportrap and trip-hop intertwine into a seamless whole.

And what a whole it is — this is a hauntological treat. Vaporwave which recalls the mysticism, melancholy, and wonder of Boards of Canada — not the arch jokiness that keeps outsiders standing in the rain. Listen to the echoes of Photek's 'Rings Around Saturn' in the weightless opener '疼痛'. There is a sincere artistic ambition here, often lacking in a movement which can fall foul of its own cynicism.

Wonderful ephemerality disintegrates this trio of tracks even as you listen. The dream upon waking, the hand curled around smoke. This music is substantial and insubstantial all at once. Like a daydream it's come and gone; it conjures itself from nothing, and on ending vanishes somewhere you cannot follow.

Like receiving a garbled fax from Boards of Canada, Black Moth Super Rainbow and Oneohtrix Point Never. Available to stream and purchase here.

Words by Andrew O’Keefe

LOGIC1000 — LOGIC1000

A cocktail of tabla, handclaps and speedy snares open LOGIC1000. It sounds punchy and simple. But Samantha Poulter's danceable beats conceal great complexity. Individual drum lines drop in and out of the mix, rejuvenating those that had surrounded them. Poulter's touch here is deft, near-invisible. It makes the first track pass in seconds.

'The River is Tight' follows -- a short, moody sketch, punctured by a relentless, funereal gong. We nosedive from the opener's euphoria into implacable unease. It's the only track bereft of an immediate sense of joy. It's also your last opportunity to catch your breath.

Straight into this EP's standout, 'DJ Logic Please Forgive Me'. It's an infectious remix of 90s R&B legend Deborah Cox; irresistible old-school vocal house. This is a shameless throwback whose ambition doesn't extend that far beyond making everyone dance. But Poulter finds strength in pragmatism. She achieves her ambitions by imposing smart limits on them. Better to do one thing well — and this does its thing exceptionally.

Once she's got you dancing, Poulter follows up with 'Derrière'. This charismatic piece swaddles a charming and cheeky vocal sample in insistent rhythms and buzzing bass. It's LOGIC1000's infectious sense of fun, boiled down into one brief, potent package.

This is an absolutely loveable release. Stuffed with diverse influences; tight, bouncy grooves and squeaky-clean production. The second it's over you'll want to start it again.

Shades of the stellar Kelly Lee Owens, Kelela and Aaliyah. LOGIC 1000 is available to stream and purchase here.

Words by Andrew O’Keefe

Gum Takes Tooth — The Arrow

Gum Takes Tooth make their intentions clear from The Arrow's first track. Heavy modulation shakes the music loose from itself. Guitar distortion pushes the sound into frailty rather than power. A discomforting feeling announces that everything could, at any point, fall apart.

This unique and engaging sound is The Arrow's most appealing element. Composition on this album, by contrast, seems to pilfer from a patchwork of influences. Its title track is the most shameless example. The crushing repetition of Swans' 'Mother of the World', or My Bloody Valentine's 'Nothing Is' is grasped at. But the track is gutless, sinking without leaving a ripple.

Gum Takes Tooth would no doubt enjoy comparisons to such extreme or experimental acts. Their work, though, is closer to The 1975's A Brief Enquiry Into Online Relationships. Inhuman by design, apocalyptic yet triumphant, eclectic but not messy. It’s a half-hearted bid for esoteric beauty — too timid to sever ties from more broadly accepted modes of expression.

'Borrowed Lies' is a mid-album highlight which incorporates a folk-like vocal melody. Gentility and beauty supplant the band's self-seriousness. It's a welcome break — and a few more moments like this could have worked wonders for the album.

As it stands, The Arrow is grandiose, but outstripped by its own ambition. It punches, but punches like a kid. And even its fantastic, medley-like final track, House Built of Fire, can't quite leave the bruise they want it to.

For fans of Crystal Castles, Savages and GNOD. The Arrow is available for streaming and purchase here.

Words by Andrew O’Keefe