by Moheak Radio
Album Review: Toadies – Play.Rock.Music.
6:00 pm in Album Review, Neon Noise by Moheak Radio
It’s been 17 years since Toadies caught any buzz, but it sure was huge. Their “Possum Kingdom” single remains a road-tested, alt-grunge anthem. But what does the 2012 edition of the band offer up? One hell of a vibrant and cohesive rock ‘n roll record, that’s what.
In opening number “Rattles Revival,” singer Todd Lewis (a romantic savant one minute, a frustrated fatalist the next) growls through a dynamic monologue with an unapologetic zeal, as the band delivers a guitars a-blazing, gnash-your-teeth boogie. But on the quirky “Summer of Strange,” Lewis reprises his more traditional delivery over a pouncing, staccato beat. Elsewhere, “Animals” and “Appeal” hum like beer-soaked ballads, and “We Burned the City Down” drops a sizzling slide guitar riff reminiscent of U2′s “Desire”. And fear not, as the swamp-dark strains of “Possum Kingdom” are revisited in “Beside You,” a creepy tale of a stalker letting its prey know just how close he is. This record reeks of twisted, warped, rambunctious fun, and bands that are half this one’s age don’t sound nearly as excited or hungry. So if your penchant for rawk gets satiated by the likes of Queens of the Stone Age or Foo Fighters, hop on over to Toadies for your next fix.
- Paul V. for Moheak Radio
