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Toby1
Cracks Increase
Surgery/Inertia
Toby1
are a local duo made up of Ruth Wilson and Duann Scott. They proclaim
themselves as "laptop rock", but what these two actually are
is inventive and brilliant. Combining Wilson’s classically trained voice
and her atmospheric use of clarinet, flute and viola with Scott’s ephemeral
guitar and programming makes for an exciting creation of slow break
beats and ambient orchestration.
From the outset Toby1 show links with other Adelaidian experiments -
like Suvome - but there is something much more basic, minimalist and
European about Toby1, more akin to the likes of Portishead and Tricky.
What this album demonstrates, along with their uniquely peculiar sound,
is the immense maturity of the artists. Although tracks like European
and King Out To Sea are catchy and memorable, it’s the atmospheric and
thought provoking pieces like the haunting Homely and the mesmerising
Go Make which really enthral.
That's not to take anything away from the more energised tracks like
the aforementioned King Out To Sea and the almost blues/folk fusion
of 7x7, which reminds me of Depeche Mode’s excursions from ‘Violator’
to the present. The thing that sets Toby1 apart from their forebears
in this regard is that they have smoothed out the clash between styles,
keeping the sound relaxed and intimate rather than over the top.
If this ten-track debut by these young stars is anything to go by then
you’ll see a lot about Toby1 over the next few years. And why not, when
their music would be supported overseas in markets more established
for electronic fusion and experimentation? If you like your electronic
art with a splattering of dark and twisted agonies of the soul, then
this should be your CD of the month.
Anthony Paxton
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