Toe

Songs, Ideas We Forgot (?? Unknown, Pre-2005)


The Book About My Idle Plot On a Vague Anxiety (2005)


New Sentimentality EP (2006)

"toe are a Japanese instrumental band, focusing on a more acoustic sound, though occasionally adding electric elements. They are tightly wound and resemble some of the polyrhythmic math-rock acts out there, but toe rest nicely on their melodies, never letting the complexity get the best of their tunes. Instead each song has a strong current of melody with alot of tight technical fret work that occasionally loosens up and becomes almost dreamy. Then they snap back into action making the songs dance and jump in front of you with propulsive drum work. The first half of the EP has a tendency to drift by, while still remaining very pretty, but the whole album regains control of your attention by the last two tracks. Altogether good stuff, for fans of Maps and Atlases, Pele, and Tera Melos and even Tortoise."

That was my old review, and after listening to more Toe I feel confident in saying that they are fucking amazing. Their drummer is really quite great, with all sorts of crazy fills, and the songs all hold a nice groove that never gets boring. Toe makes for good background music, due to great basswork and wonderful interlocking guitar lines that paint the room in generous hues, but you can get really deep into these songs and drop your jaw at the success of every twist and turn they provide. Toe also knows when to rest on its laurels and not overwhelm. While I enjoy the challenging nature of alot of mathy instrumental rock, it is nice to still hear that complexity in a sound that presents itself so warmly. At this point I would compare them more to Piglet and still compare them to Pele, though I think Toe has far outshine Pele in this arena.

Its also one of my favorite groups to do graphics too. But then again, so is most hardcore and metal.

On their website it says they are playing with Envy. Jeez. What I wouldnt give to see the two of them together...

Toe Website