Left Myself Behind - TOY Single Review

TOY

Single Review

Is this possibly one of the finest tracks ever of its genre? Quite possibly, yes. Extending close to eight minutes in length - of which almost four minutes are filled with drum, guitars and synth alone - London five-piece TOY have turned out something quite monumental in their first single.

Formed out of Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong, they have been hotly tipped as one of the most exciting new bands of 2012, and on the basis of this single alone, TOY make everyone else sound weak and faded in comparison. Having recently opened for The Horrors, they may have picked up a little influence there - along with a touch of German industrial and Placebo. But there is a definite uniqueness about them that you will either instantaneously fall in love with, or dislike with equal rapidity and intensity.

'Left Myself Behind' is not a track for subtle listening. Although fronted by the engaging and hypnotic vocal of Tom Dougall and vibed on a catchy toe-tapping melody, this is largely a guitar and drum, post-punk woozy psychedelic bliss-out. The steady drum backing (provided by Charlie Salvidge) throughout plays alongside a wash of strident guitar work (from Dougall and Dominic O'Dair, and Maxim Barron on bass) and undulating synthesizers (Alejandra Diez), with an epic repeated chord sequence three-minute ending. Anyone who thinks guitar bands are dead need only to listen to this to be assured that is far from the case.

It is rare that you get any single, let alone a debut one, that you simply want to shout from the rooftops about. This is one. I just hope TOY haven't peaked too early. If 'Left Myself Behind' is backed up by the rest of the material on their debut album coming later this year being as good, then this is a band who could be unstoppable.

Alex Litton