| Pleather EP | 1993 |
| Rubberneck | 1994 |
| Hell Below/Stars Above | 2001 |
The Toadies are a unique hard rock band that popped up in 1994 with their debut album, Rubberneck (actually, they had kicked around on an indie label before releasing the Pleather EP, which nobody noticed), which spawned the MAJOR hit single "Possum Kingdom" and the lesser hits "I Come From The Water" and "Away". After that, the group all but disappeared for 7 years, occasionally contributing a song to a soundtrack, but keeping out of the spotlight. Finally, they followed up their debut in 2001 with Hell Below/Stars Above, which sparked little media attention.
--Philip Maddox
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(reviewed by Philip Maddox)
The Toadies major label/full length debut was a hit upon its release, spawning the major hit "Possum Kingdom". Remember that tune? The one with the alternating 8/4 and 7/4 riffs? The one with the "I will treat you well/my sweet angel/So help me Jesus" in the chorus? The one where they chant "Do you wanna die?" about 50 times? You probably know that song, but have no idea that it's called "Possum Kingdom". Anyway, if you haven't heard it, it's a really good tune. It's awkwardly paced, dark, and as catchy as all get out. It's also about vampires (though the lyrics are a bit veiled) and even earned the group "vampire" fans, who would come out to concerts dressed in vampiric attire. The tune also got them pegged as "one hit wonders", which is a shame, since the group has SO much more to offer than "Possum Kingdom".
What makes this group different from their contemporaries is their unique sense of style. It's not at all inappropriate that the word "Rubber" appears in the title of the album, because that's how the group's riffs all sound - rubbery. I can't quite explain how they sound - they all switch time signatures constantly and switch to odd, jarring chords to good effect. Other than "Possum Kingdom", the best place to hear this is on the awesome opening instrumental, "Mexican Hairless". The riffs bounce around uncomfortably and switch moods over and over again in the course of a 2 minute piece. It's fantastic.
Really, though, most of this album is of VERY high quality, especially during the first half. "Mister Love" strikes me as being particularly good, with lead singer Todd Lewis' screams of "Are you gonna SAAAAAAAAAAVE me? Can you SAAAAAAAAAAAVE me?" mixing perfectly with the odd chord and key changes. You might have heard "Away" and "I Come From The Water" before, and they both rock hard, especially the latter, with those aforementioned awesome chord changes. God, these guys just have such a cool SOUND! I don't know why I like their riffing style so much, I just do.
Still, as much as I would love to give this a really high rating, some of the songs on the second half simply aren't very good. "Tyler" drags along, and by the time it gets more exciting at the end, I don't care anymore. "Happyface" is just annoying as hell (not to mention those lyrics - "No no no more son of a bitch/No more happyface!"... *shudder*), and most of the other songs on side 2 have moments, but they drag, keeping this from being a completely enjoyable release. Still, it shows considerable promise, and it's a shame that it took the group seven years to follow up this recording.
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