Toy Weather - Feathers In A Strange Wind Progressive Voyages Review PV040

Toy Weather – Feathers in a Strange Wind

Progressive Voyages Review PV040

Progressive music is, by its nature, encompassing. It can and very often does touch on many varied emotions, and carries in its veins the blood of multiple influences and sub-genres. And while many bands can fairly easily be placed into one sub-genre or another, that ISN’T always the case.

Enter Norwegian progressive rock trio Toy Weather.

Now, I like Pink Floyd very much. And I really, REALLY love Van Der Graaf Generator. So when I first learned of the new Toy Weather album ‘Feathers in a Strange Wind’, and was told of the inclusion of those two behemoths of the prog world as notable (and noticeable) influences on the record, it set my prog radar in motion. Svein Hovland, the mastermind behind Toy Weather, has, after all, made no secret that his love of and respect for Van der Graaf Generator and their ability to “….blend aggressive and mellow rock, psychedelic and experimental music, opera and classical elements, English queerness, sci-fi, pop…” was a major influence on his writing for the new record. So…. I located the album, and ‘pressed play’…. Expecting an album rife with those influences. And I got that.

But I got more. SO much more.

Drawing on those influences, and adding their own unique flair as well as influences from the scenes of the greater avant-garde bands from the progressive world, Hovland and company (Frank Hovland on bass and Rune Kogstad on drums) have crafted something entirely unique and original; akin to a modern day avant-garde/art rock masterpiece. Despondent, sad, melancholic and full of a sense of creepy foreboding, placed craftily over a type of art-prog that ranges from melodic to experimental on an almost R.I.O. level; this record is a trip-tastic ride that holds wonder and adventure for almost every type of progressive rock listener.

So…. Join me, won’t you? Let’s chase the wild geese, let the matador tempt the bull, visit a sleepy town, let the feathers blow in the strange wind, and go where all the good people go…. Down the Toy Weather rabbit-hole with a track-by-track look at this prodigious record.

‘Wild Geese’ – we begin the journey in a dreamlike haze, complete with awesomely strange chord progressions and Peter Hammill-ish vocals. The song is a disconcerting journey; expertly put together and played subtly; deftly and understated (the whole album is played in pretty much this manner): There is no one musical bit that really stands out; this is truly a “the whole is greater than its parts” song and album. And…. Bizarre as it is…. It works so well.

‘Woodstock Morning’ – we move straight from unusual and experimental to slow and beautiful. The best track on the album (in my opinion)…. This is an excellent marriage of the styles of Van Der Graaf Generator and (especially in the chorus) Pink Floyd. And my God, is it awesome to behold. The chord progressions are fantastically gorgeous. Again, the use of ‘understatement’ is so effective…. The song works so well because the musicians all play so simply and allow the song space to breathe. And the result is heavenly.

‘A Part of You’ – a straight-mid-tempo rock song with a hint of some slow pop tendency best describes track three. Again, we get an amazing chorus (one of the best, catchiest and strongest on the record) that screams an amalgamation of Pink Floyd, Tears for Fears, Radiohead, Oasis and The Cure. Talk about a variance of styles thus far…. 3 tracks…. Three completely distinct and different progressive styles and an entire army of influences; keeping it fresh and maintaining listener engagement is the name of game to this point… and it’s working.

‘Matador’ – another dark and unsettling track, this one edges toward Rock In Opposition territory. There is no real defined musical structure here…. The singing taking place over the faintest of melodies…. But mostly cacophonous sounds…. We are almost (but not quite) in “musique concrète” territory here. Experimentally avant-garde and art rock, this one. Lovely for those of us who love that sub-genre (as I most certainly do!).

‘Tangles’ – this short track follows in the stead of the album’s first track, with unsettling and strange chord progression choices, played over and through what is almost a Latin beat. What an odd and glorious mix of styles here…. Beat-wise very easy to follow; melody-wise difficult to ever locate or key in on. Marvelously done mix of styles here; more avant-garde mixed with neo-prog and recognizable beat structure.

‘Maybe It’s Sad’ – another relatively short track here; we move to a piano-ballad style, with only minimal drums/percussion…. This track relies heavily on the piano and voice. The choices of progression here are, again, strange and unexpected; the song doesn’t head to or turn in the direction you think it’s going to. It is so refreshing to hear a record that is this inventive and “out of the box” in its songcraft.

‘All in the Book’ – this is one of the more strait-laced rock songs on the record. Simple but effective structure of the song means a break from the strange deviations from the norm we have encountered thus far on our journey through the record. The song’s conclusion sends us out on a short wave of what is almost jazz-fusion prog.

‘Days’ – a guitar introduction that harkens back to the days of early Yes, this one starts simply enough…. The eerie and unnatural qualities that are present with respect to most of the album are largely absent here. And though the chord progressions do continue to be a bit unusual, they are confined to a song structure that is more in the vein of a normally crafted song as opposed to an art-style that has dominated the song structures throughout.

‘Sleepy Town 1973’ – one of the strangest songs on the record (and THAT is saying something!); this starts beautifully, before twisting quickly into a dark study in manipulation and distrust. Such a wealth of schisms in the musical choices here…. Truly discombobulating…. In the best possible way. This is an absolute study in oddity…. And is deeply influenced by Van Der Graaf Generator’s earlier styles, particularly when they would lean experimental.

‘Where All the Good People Go’ – we end our intensely strange progressive voyage with another oddly constructed song; this one relying (initially) on an almost tribal beat played over voice and strange sounds…. Which then crescendos to another pop-rock style section laced with more odd chord progression choices, before very suddenly dying away. It’s an extremely abrupt and unsettling finish to a bizarre and eccentric album.

Toy Weather is an astoundingly good example of a band that has taken a very large assemblage of styles, and, while making them noticeable in the songs themselves, have refused to be defined by them. The band spans progressive genres aplenty…. From the strangely sublime experimentations in the early years of Van Der Graaf Generator, to the prog prowess and commercial sensibility of Pink Floyd, to the off-kilter avant-garde scene populated with the likes of bands like French TV and Thinking Plague.

The end result is truly remarkable; an album chock full of dreamy atmosphere and a listening adventure that is sure to keep a listener actively engaged in figuring out just where Toy Weather is going next. The album truly plays like a warped and dreary soundtrack to a rainy fall day; the listener on a sad and lonely trip through a small town with dark secrets and shady characters on every street corner. I cannot recommend this album highly enough; artfully written and masterfully performed; every listen uncovers something new…. Takes me down a different dark and twisted lane, and that, my friends, is a reward all its own.

Feathers in a strange wind, indeed.

You can find more information on Toy Weather, and purchase ‘Feathers in a Strange Wind’, on their Bandcamp page. Here: www.appollonrecords.bandcamp.com

AUTHOR CHRIS CLARK