Toy (stylised as TOY) are an English

indie rock Indie rock is a 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 music they produc ...

band from Brighton, East Sussex. They have released three albums, an EP and a number of singles. In 2015, the band collaborated with Natasha Khan on the Sexwitch project.

History

The band was formed in 2010 in Brighton by school-friends and former Joe Lean & The Jing Jang Jong band members, singer/guitarist Tom Dougall (younger brother of

Rose Elinor Dougall Rose Elinor Dougall (born 13 March 1986) is an English singer, songwriter and musician. She was a member of The Pipettes and has performed with Mark Ronson. She also performs and records as a solo artist. Career Dougall joined The Pipettes in ...

, formerly of

The Pipettes The Pipettes were a British indie pop girl group formed in 2003 in Brighton by Robert "Monster Bobby" Barry. The group has released two albums, '' We Are The Pipettes'', and '' Earth vs. The Pipettes'' and released numerous singles to suppor ...

), guitarist Dominic O'Dair and bassist Maxim "Panda" Barron along with Gloucester born drummer Charlie Salvidge and Spanish keyboard playerBaggs, Michael (2012)
Toy: 'We're already writing our second album'
, Gigwise.com, 28 June 2012. Retrieved 7 December 2013 Alejandra Diez. Salvidge had previously presented "The Sixties Show" on Bristol radio station BCFM, and played with punk band Mudfite. Shortly after, the band moved to London and six months later signed to

Heavenly Records Heavenly Recordings is a London-based independent record label founded by Jeff Barrett in 1990. Heavenly released the first albums from Saint Etienne, Beth Orton and Doves, and early singles by Manic Street Preachers. Current Heavenly artists ...

. The band's first live performance was at London venue, The Lexington, in support of

The Heartbreaks The Heartbreaks are a British alternative rock band formed in Morecambe, Lancashire in 2009. The band consists of singer Matthew Whitehouse, songwriter and drummer Joseph Kondras, guitarist Ryan Wallace and bassist Christopher 'Deaks' Deakin. C ...

in December 2010. The band played at festivals in 2011 including Field Day and supported

The Horrors The Horrors are an English rock band formed in Southend-on-Sea in 2005, consisting of lead vocalist Faris Badwan, guitarist Joshua Hayward, keyboardist and synthesizer player Tom Furse, bassist Rhys Webb, and drummer and percussionist Joe Spu ...

on their UK autumn tour.Field Day 2011: The Quietus Review
,

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quietu ...

, 11 August 2011, retrieved 15 January 2012Lidbetter, Liam (2011)
The Horrors/TOY, Brighton, Concorde 2, 24/10/11
, '' The Fly'', 7 November 2011, retrieved 15 January 2012 The Horrors played a big role during the band's first years, supporting and helping them, as Diez stated.Interview: Alejandra from TOY
, entertaim.net, 28 April 2014. Retrieved 28 April 2014 The band's debut single, "Left Myself Behind", was released in 2011 by Heavenly Records, the initial pressing of 100 selling out in a day.WATCH: New Toy Video
,

, 12 December 2011, retrieved 15 January 2012 It was reissued in January 2012. The single was described by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' as "excellent...recalls some kind of late-80s/early-90s jam session between Stereolab, Felt and Pulp".Robinson, John (2012)
This Week's New Live Music
, ''

'', 14 January 2012, retrieved 15 January 2012 The band were picked as one of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''s "100 New Bands You Have to Hear" in January 2012, with

Rhys Webb Rhys Webb (born 9 December 1988) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Ospreys. Born in Bridgend, he is a product of the Ospreys academy and played club rugby for Bridgend RFC and Aberavon RFC before breaking into the regi ...

of The Horrors describing them as "the most exciting band to come out last year" and "my favourite band for 2012"."100 New Bands You Have to Hear: UK 2012: Generation Next", ''

'', 7 January 2012, p. 38 The band's debut album, ''

Toy A toy or plaything is an object that is used primarily to provide entertainment. Simple examples include toy blocks, board games, and dolls. Toys are often designed for use by children, although many are designed specifically for adults and pet ...

'', was released on 10 September 2012, to critical acclaim. The album was recorded and mixed in two weeks. The band supported the indie rock band

The Vaccines The Vaccines are an English indie rock band, formed in West London in 2010. Band members Justin Hayward-Young (lead vocals, guitar), Freddie Cowan (lead guitar, vocals), Árni Árnason (bass, vocals), Timothy Lanham (guitars, keys, vocals) and ...

on their UK Tour in May 2013, which included a date at the 20,000 capacity

O2 Arena O2 Arena may refer to: *The O2 Arena (London) *O2 Arena (Prague) *The 3Arena The 3Arena (originally The O2) is an indoor amphitheatre located at North Wall Quay in the Dublin Docklands in Dublin, Ireland. The venue opened as The O2 on 16 Decem ...

in London. They announced the release of their second album, '' Join the Dots'' on 14 October 2013. It was released on 9 December in Europe and the UK, and the 17th in the USA. 2014 the band toured Europe in a nine-week trip including a lot of places outside the usual tour scheme like Ljubljana and Bratislava. End of April they played their biggest show in the UK so far, the Shepherd's Bush Empire. During the summer of 2014 the band played a number of European festivals. The following year, the band continued to perform live sporadically while they continued work on their third record. At the end of August 2015 the band were part of a collaboration with Natasha Khan of

Bat for Lashes Natasha Khan (born 25 October 1979), known professionally as Bat for Lashes, is an English singer, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist. She has released five studio albums: '' Fur and Gold'' (2006), ''Two Suns'' (2009), '' The Hau ...

and producer Dan Carey entitled Sexwitch. It consists of a six-track cover album that was recorded in day by Carey and set for release on 25 September. Alejandra Diez announced her departure from the band via their official Facebook page on 23 September 2015, stating personal reasons. Max Oscarnold of The Proper Ornaments (who have previously supported the band on tour) has since joined the band. In August 2016 the band announced their third album and made the song "Fast Silver" available on streaming services. It was followed by the song "I'm Still Believing" supported by a video directed by Bunny Kinney in September. The band's third album ''Clear Shot'' appeared on 28 October 2016 and was produced by David Wrench. The Guardian called the album "another fine effort from a band who are gradually building up an absorbing catalogue". The LP release included the EP "Spellbound", was followed by a tour in support in November through to December. The band left Heavenly Records in 2018.

Musical style

The band's sound has been described as a combination of psychedelic rock, krautrock, shoegaze and

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad music genre, genre of Punk Music, punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde s ...

.The best new acts to watch out for in 2012
", ''

Time Out London ''Time Out'' is a global magazine published by Time Out Group. ''Time Out'' started as a London-only publication in 1968 and has expanded its editorial recommendations to 328 cities in 58 countries worldwide. In 2012, the London edition becam ...

'', retrieved 15 January 2012

Discography

Albums

*''

'' (2012), UK No. 48 *'' Join the Dots'' (2013), UK No. 126 *''Clear Shot'' (2016) *'' Happy in the Hollow'' (2019), UK No. 71 *''Songs of Consumption'' (2019)

Singles

*"Left Myself Behind b/w Clock Chime" (2011), Heavenly *"Motoring b/w When I Went Back" (April 2012), Heavenly *"Dead & Gone b/w

Andrew Weatherall Andrew James Weatherall (6 April 1963 – 17 February 2020) was an English musician, DJ, songwriter, producer and remixer. His career took him from being one of the key DJs in the acid house movement of the late 1980s to being a remixer of trac ...

remix" (August 2012), Heavenly *"Lose My Way b/w Bright White Shimmering Sun" (September 2012), Heavenly *"Make It Mine E.P." (December 2012), Heavenly *"Heart Skips a Beat" (March 2013), Heavenly *"Join the Dots" (October 2013), Heavenly *"Sequence One" (October 2018), Tough Love Records

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:TOY 2010 establishments in England English indie rock groups Heavenly Recordings artists Musical groups established in 2010 Musical groups from Brighton and Hove Musical groups from London