Arguably one of the most pleasing indie releases in recent years, Sally Tomato\u2019s Toy Room <\/i>is an ambitious and diverse experiment. A rock opera in four acts, it follows the life and development of Sally Tomato, drawing on familiar themes of childhood innocence, the difficult transition to adulthood, and the impact on imagination and personality that comes with it. The standout achievement of Toy Room <\/i>is the manner in which it blends a rather conventional storyline with a rich and impressive m\u00e9lange of songs, making for a unique listening experience. <\/p>\n
From the opening track, one gets a sense of the band\u2019s creative touch. The bright, crisp tone of guitarist Carlos Severe Marcelin\u2019s introductory notes kicks off the involving \u201cOverture,\u201d a cosmic affair. Sally\u2019s spoken-word narrative and gentle choruses of \u201cIn the dark there is only one light \/ No one can touch me here\u201d draped in recurring vocal effects round out an opening number that instantly draws you in.<\/p>\n
The album progresses such a manner that it is near-impossible to place the songs in a generalized category. \u201cBeyond the Stares,\u201d Sally\u2019s account of her childhood sanctuary in the Toy Room, is a gentle, melodic piece, almost like a lullaby. \u201cBad Seed\u201d kicks off with a wonderfully smooth guitar lick and quickly settles into a catchy groove, nicely carried by some solid drumming courtesy of Eric Flint. The production of this record is quite striking by this point; each instrument packs a great deal of punch, with everything from overdubs to background effects crystal clear in the mix. The last song covering Sally\u2019s childhood years, \u201cNo Crying Here,\u201d expands on the vibe of the previous track quite nicely, with the jazzy character of Marcelin\u2019s guitar and Sally\u2019s vocals making a great pairing. <\/p>\n
Act 2 is a markedly different affair, musically and thematically, as Sally\u2019a life hits a downward spiral after marrying a white trash husband and being relegated to a life of trailer park living. It\u2019s all a bit deadpan as Sally details her \u201cpersonal nightmare.\u201d Though lacking the spaciness and variety of Act 1, tracks like \u201cBroken Machine\u201d and \u201cAir\u201d are quite nice. The contrast between Sally\u2019s pouty lyrical reflections on her situation and the upbeat music is well done. <\/p>\n
Our main protagonist\u2019s escape from the situation in Act 3 makes for some of the most entertaining tracks on the CD. Things take a much more rockin\u2019 style in \u201cSaturday Night,\u201d while \u201cNight Scene\u201d has the catchiness of Steve Miller\u2019s \u201cAbracadabra\u201d with its oddly infectious digital loops and Sally\u2019s galloping, quirky vocals. Act 4, meanwhile, is a dreamweaving collection of songs highlighted by the nine-minutes long \u201cCrowded,\u201d which effectively captures the sense of imagination and unreality associated with childhood.<\/p>\n
Save for a spoken narrative that occasionally interrupts the flow of the songs, this is an exceptionally well-crafted album. With its rich array of sounds, sparkling production, and fresh take on old themes, Toy Room<\/i> is an immensely satisfying work. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":29894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[8399],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-41515","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-sally-tomato","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41515","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41515"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/41515\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41515"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41515"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=41515"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=41515"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}