aaamusic | On 28, Mar 2011

Where has Aqualung gone? The UK charts are bare of any weepy, sleepy piano-led soft-rock, a la The Beatles ballads of yester-century. Aqualung used to be able to provide this hit, particularly when he added the baroque elements – strings, brass, choirs etc – to his later recordings. But he’s MIA. So, it’s over to the hype-hype-hyped Toy Horses to give the UK a dose of melody driven indie-pop. And they are more than a fitting substitute (for Aqualung, not for The Beatles, obviously).

Toy Horses are an intriguing little project – consisting of Adam Franklin and his Stepfather Tom Williams, this duo have already managed to break out of Wales and onto the music radars of not only British radio, but also American radio. Their songs are produced by none other than Wilco’s Ken Coomer, and their session musicians include a member of the mighty Counting Crows. All this without even releasing a bloody album yet (and hence the hype-hype-hype!).

‘Interrupt’ is a lovely listen – a very British voice sings a catchy, pop melody over some Beatles-esque ‘Aaahs’ (some ‘Shalalas’ and some ‘Oohs’), while simple, soppy piano and acoustic guitar chords try to trick us to thinking Toy Horses are a understated affair. And perhaps they would be if it weren’t for all those well-arranged but entirely unsubtle strings. The production is pristine and the accessibility of this track transcends generational divides – The Bealtes-loving grandparents, Athlete-loving parents, and The Feeling-loving kids will fall for ‘Interrupt’. Check it out upon its April 4^th release, one week before the release of Toy Horses’ debut, self-titled album.

Author: Clive Rozario