Toy Horses are a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band, originating from

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

during the late 2000s, composed of Adam D. Franklin (b. Cardiff 1984) and his step-father Tom Williams (b. 1971). The duo are multi-instrumentalists, but with Franklin on lead vocals. Despite their UK origins, however, their first professional recordings were made in the US. Demo versions of songs had been picked up US radio guru

Nic Harcourt Nic Harcourt (born September 23, 1957) is an English-born American radio and television presenter, producer, and journalist best known as the former Music Director and on-air presenter for the Santa Monica, California-based radio station KCRW. Har ...

and they were invited to record in the US with

Ken Coomer Ken Coomer is an American musician and producer best known for his drumming in Uncle Tupelo and later Wilco. He was the drummer and co-founder of the Nashville-based band, Clockhammer, in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Career Coomer produced th ...

of the band

Wilco Wilco is an American alternative rock band based in Chicago, Illinois. The band was formed in 1994 by the remaining members of alternative country group Uncle Tupelo following singer Jay Farrar's departure. Wilco's lineup changed frequently dur ...

. Not having any other band members, they were joined in the recording studio in

Music Row Music Row is a historic district located southwest of downtown Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Widely considered the heart of Nashville's entertainment industry, Music Row has also become a metonymous nickname for the music industry as a w ...

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

by Jim Bogois (a member of the band

Counting Crows Counting Crows is an American rock band from San Francisco, California. Formed in 1991, the band consists of guitarist David Bryson, drummer Jim Bogios, vocalist Adam Duritz, keyboardist Charlie Gillingham, David Immerglück, bass guitarist Mil ...

, and member of

Sheryl Crow Sheryl Suzanne Crow (born February 11, 1962) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of rock, pop, country, folk, and blues. She has released eleven studio albums, five compilations and three li ...

's band) on drums and Tim Marks on bass. In their live performances since then the duo have been joined by Tom Rees (drums), Jon Proud (bass) and Carl Prior (guitar/keyboards). While in the US they were invited to perform at the

SXSW South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Te ...

festival in

Austin Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. Their style of music is seen as having an affinity with 60s pop music, especially

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, evident in the melodic and playful tunes, albeit often hiding melancholy lyrics. Their debut album ''Toy Horses'', produced by Ken Coomer, was released by Albino Sparrow Records in April 2011 to critical acclaim."Toy Horses" reviewed by Simon Price, ''The Independent'', 3 April 2011.
/ref> Their first single was "Interrupt" (released April 2011). In 2011 Toy Horses were short-listed for the prestigious

Mercury Music Prize The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album released in the United Kingdom by a British or Irish act. It was created by Jon Webster and Robert Chandler in association with the B ...

''Toy Horses'' Album Playlist

1. Play What You Want
2. And It Was You
3. Sordid Little World
4. Damage Done
5. Last Chance
6. Loyal To The Cause
7. Love At An Arm's Length
8. Oh Violet
9. No One's Ever Gonna Leave You
10. Interrupt

References

External links

* Welsh rock music groups British experimental rock groups Musical groups from Cardiff Rock music duos Welsh musical duos {{UK-musician-stub