Within approximately one minute of taking to the stage, TOY had turned a sea of excitably transfixed teenagers into a bunch of gloomy statues. Their introductory statements of blank expressions were all The Cockpit needed to ruin the vibe, but this is TOY, after all.

Their appearance for the evening was both striking yet familiar. Their hair covered faces and dark clothing, all void of eccentricity, provided a sense of mystery to a band that appeared to lack in much needed conversation. Perhaps they wanted their music to speak for itself, and safe to say, their set was polished and drowned in reverb. Heavily influenced by the late 80s/early 90s, TOY’s post rock, psychedelic style fulfils the ‘indie’ trademark of today. This, mixed with simple, melodic vocals, creates a band image reminiscent to icons such as The Strokes and Yuck.

As TOY entranced the crowd with tracks such as ‘Left Myself Behind’, one of their most popular crowd pleasers, ‘Endlessly’ and ‘Join the Dots’, their driving rhythm re-ignited the crowd’s energy. From then on, TOY’s style came to life and it appeared as though both the band and crowd left The Cockpit looking nonplussed by what the hell just happened. The evening demonstrated that TOY have proved to be a painfully awkward band, and somehow, it worked perfectly.

Patsy O’Neill

photo: louderthanwar