aaamusic | On 11, Apr 2011

Internet sensations Toy Horses debut album has everything you could want, whether that is songs that have drawn comparisons to The Beatles or the eclectic mix of influences that seem to vary from track to track.  Their self-titled record is about as close as you can get to a perfect release, and all this created by a step-father and son from Cardiff.

The whole album by Toy Horses is like a pick and mix, each track having a different flavour but still offers the sweet sound you’ll wonder how you managed to live without.  Take the opening track Play What you Want, which sounds remarkably like Scouting for Girls, although unlike their annoying indie counterparts they don’t base all their songs on 15 year old girls.  After the first track you could easily think you’ve got Toy Horses figured out, soft radio-friendly indie and nothing of any real interest to the music interest (Again like Scouting for Girls), however each track has been produced in such a way that they all flow perfectly alongside each other, but sound different in their own right.

The 10 track album keeps growing in strength with numbers like Interrupt, which you can tell the pair have spend hours perfecting and agonising over.  There is no weak track on their release, Toy Horses manage to utilise different instruments, different tempo across their songs and songs you could easily associate with the like of Elbow or even The Arctic Monkeys.  The bands focus on getting the instrumental work is particularly admirable, so many bands will often overlook this in favour of having stronger lyrics or a better vocalist; Toy Horses show you really can have it all.

The album draws to a close with their critically acclaimed single And it Was You, a perfect example of the bands commercial indie-pop.  This is the sort of album anyone can truly listen to.  Some might not get the album and write it off as another indie band belting out the same tried and tested material we’ve come to accept, however there is much more to Toy Horses and they’re a band well worth 40 minutes of your time.

Author: Tom Crowther