TOYZ - review added 23rd February 2010
Album Review: Carte Blanche (2009)
For fans of: Rock... and mellow progressive tendencies
Parisian hard rockers Toyz have been around since 1997. By 2003 they had signed a deal with Escape Music and, one year later, the album House of Cards was released to reasonable success across the globe.
Carte Blanche is the band's 2nd album and features the line-up of Luke “Lucky sprite” Marcheciel on lead vocals, Olivier Maug on guitars, Chris Mornac on keyboards, Rickey on bass, and Jean-Christophe Perrin on drums. To be honest, I'm quite surprised Escape let the band go. There's some really decent music on this album.
The sound is a mixing pot of AOR, soft rock, prog and modern pop. The result is bright, fresh and often excellent. If you are looking for something stupendously heavy that's going to turn your bones to powder, this isn't the album for you. But if you fancy music with bouncy choruses, sweet rhythms and reassuringly pleasant (youthful sounding) vocals, it's worth a look.
'Angel' is a pleasantly bounding way to kick things off. 'The Captor' reminds me of a softer version of Eden's Curse. In fact the album as a whole has more than a passing resemblance. 'Velvet Touch' is by far my favourite track. It's a beautiful inspirational ballad and deserves all the airplay and success it gets. 'One More Try' is a good upbeat bluesy effort with a fair portion of oomph behind it. 'The Old Tree' is another slow beautiful song with a subdued epic vibe. 'Pharaoh’s Cries' is an okay track with a story to tell, although it's all a tad forgettable.
'Asylum' takes a time to get going but it's worth the wait. The chorus is truly sublime. 'Therefore I Am' is great at the chorus too, although the verse structure really plods. 'The Poet' is middling. 'You And I' yet again has a cool chorus and uninteresting build-up. Final track 'Rock Singers' features extra vocalists Boban (Snake Eye), Olivier (Shannon) and Stuffy (High School Mother F*ckers), and boasts a heavier edge.
Carte Blanche is a good release. It could have been better though; lots of songs have huge choruses, but the verses are often throwaway. Toyz clearly have the talent - ably demonstrated by the best few tracks on this record - but a touch more focus would have been welcomed. Still, I really like what they've achieved and will undoubtedly have a good few more listens.
Check out... Bonus track 'Hong Kong' tucked in at the end of the last official track.
Track List:
01. Angel
02. The Captor
03. Velvet Touch
04. One More Try
05. The Old Tree
06. Pharaoh’s Cries
07. Asylum
08. Therefore I Am
09. The Poet
10. You and I
11. Rock Singers
Label: Brennus Music
Artist's website(s): MySpace
