From the album cover, you’d expect toasterz to be a punk band. Instead, toasterz is an energetic pop rock group. They debuted in 2022 with a solo single in 2023 and now the full length [toasterz : pilot episode].
Even though it’s a full length, [toasterz : pilot episode] moves so fast. It’s eight songs and 21 minutes. This means that everything moves quickly. The introduction song, “pilot episode,” sets up the album in 50 seconds and it is generally forgettable. “Look at this love!” presents toasterz as an indie pop rock band. More interesting is that the vocals are in English. So it sounds like a radio song from 2005.
Vocals are warm and mellow, sitting right under the surface of the instrumentals. “January girl” is a standout track and really cements what most people will feel when they hear about toasterz. “Turf Rock” is what YENA was probably trying to hit with her second Japanese single “DNA.” toasterz just do it better.
It’s questionable why toasterz chose “Sea Turtle” as their single. Like I know why in business strategy – it’s similar to popular beach-side mellow indie rock and melodic pop rock tones – but there isn’t a style trend along the rest of the album. Short of the “Sea Turtle” breaking up the album in style, it’s an ok song but not what I think is most interesting.
I think if toasterz wanted to use a song in that popular style, “Sunday Night” would be more compelling. It’s got a little more bite. Overall, [toasters : pilot episode] starts with a lot of energy and slowly dwindles into melancholy. I don’t think this makes the full length weak at all. It’s more interesting because I thought toasterz vol 1.0 was interesting but nothing really new.
toasterz presents a lot of great ideas. I think this full length shows a lot of potential but the dual direction feels a little hard to contain. If every release has this dual perspective, it could get muddled. But I’m going to wait until the next release arrives.
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Written by Chris P for Korean Indie.