TOY
by TOY
  • Record Label: Heavenly
  • Release Date: Sep 25, 2012
Metascore
77

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. NOW Magazine
    Sep 13, 2012
    100
    Toy manage to be psychedelic and craft memorable pop.
  2. musicOMH.com
    Sep 11, 2012
    90
    Be it the sawing blasts of guitar that rushes you through the poignant Lose My Way, the spiralling vortex of Dead & Gone, upon which you helplessly bob along in or the careering momentum of Kopter, it's never anything other than intoxicating and brilliantly realised.
  3. DIY Magazine
    Sep 10, 2012
    90
    What 'TOY' lacks in originality, it more than makes up for with an incredibly rich dot-to-dot of psychedelia laced musical education, and this album is, to coin an awful new musical genre, Nu-new-wave at its very best.
  5. Mojo
    Sep 19, 2012
    80
    It'll surely rank as British alt-rock's finest debut of 2012--genuinely fit for a place in Dougall Sr's pantheon. [Oct 2012, p.88]
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  6. The Quietus
    Sep 18, 2012
    80
    This album still contains some of the strongest pop songs of the past few years, plus evidence of a restless, experimental desire to keep moving on that makes you hungry to hear what they're going to do next.
  7. New Musical Express (NME)
    Sep 10, 2012
    80
    This band surf the cosmic channels of krautrock, cruising along on motorik beats, waving at pals The Horrors and tipping their hats to Syd Barrett as they chug through hypnotic, psychedelic pop songs.
  8. The Fly (UK)
    Sep 7, 2012
    80
    If TOY are a gateway drug, you'll be too high to care by the time this one's done.
  9. Alternative Press
    Sep 6, 2012
    80
    Frontman Tom Dougall offers guitar distensions, pedal abuse and disaffected vocals, while synth op Alejandra Diez is called upon to deliver gorgeous melodies and sinister noise. [Oct 2012, p. 92]
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  10. Clash Music
    Sep 6, 2012
    80
    A strong, self-assured debut offering, 'TOY' represents a band who are capable of channelling multiple identities without losing sight of their own.
  11. The Guardian
    Sep 6, 2012
    80
    If the dips into shoegaze and 1980s "sound and fury" rock sound familiar, pop hooks placed at surprising moments means they sound refreshing more than reheated.
  12. BBC Music
    Sep 6, 2012
    80
    This debut is all creepy, crawly kinds of fun, and we already want more.
  13. Under The Radar
    Sep 26, 2012
    75
    What their self-titled debut lacks in innovation, it makes up for in spirit, its 12 barn-burning tracks accurately capturing a sense of youthful zeitgeist.
  14. AllMusic
    Dec 7, 2012
    70
    While they need to focus more, there's enough potential here to ensure that there's plenty to choose from.
  15. Exclaim
    Sep 12, 2012
    70
    There's definitely a familiarity to their sound, but once you get past the derivativeness of it all, there's much to like about Toy.

Awards & Rankings

85
#85 Most Shared Album of 2012

User Reviews

All reviews »
User Score
7.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. Forest90
    Sep 14, 2013
    7
    TOY are an outfit derived from Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, a band better known for being the butt of many jokes for their seeminglyTOY are an outfit derived from Joe Lean and the Jing Jang Jong, a band better known for being the butt of many jokes for their seemingly endless delays of releasing an album before splitting up before doing so. I actually saw them supporting the Cribs in 2008, and they were very underwhelming. It is good to see then that the remaining members have managed to regroup with such success. TOY is a very solid psychedelic album that never drifts far from it's formula, and I hope to see more from them.… Full Review »
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