ALBUM REVIEW: Suburban Toys – Night & Day/Beat City (Toy Tunes)
Suburban Toys are a four-piece female-fronted band from Lincoln who play their own brand of modern ska-punk.
Influenced by original punk, third wave ska and new wave, they’ve played some some prestigious support slots with the likes of Buzzcocks, 999, Vibrators, TV Smith, and The Lurkers.
Their debut album, 2019’s Out Of The Blue, was self-released on their own Toy Tunes label, and this release is their second and third albums in one, with a whopping 23 tracks on one CD!
They’ve had a change of personnel since the first album, with Hope Bateman now on lead vocals and Tony Morris on drums joining guitarist Adam Cripps and bassist Vinnie Ramsey.
Night & Day is generally more punky and features slightly older songs, including some re-recorded from their first album. Beat City is a bit more ska-inflected, but they’ve both got plenty to recommend them.
This release was originally scheduled to be two separate albums, but the band decided to release them on one CD to keep production and retail costs down, as they were working to a very tight budget.
Night & Day is tracks 1-11, with the Beat City album taking up tracks 12-22. Hope has a strong, clear voice which reminds me of trailblazing female punk vocalists like Poly Styrene and Pauline Murray, and if that’s not a recommendation I don’t know what is.
Seven of the tracks from the first half of the album are on the debut too, but highlights include With You, powered by a punchy drumbeat and fuzzy guitar, and Coupe De Ville, which skanks along at a nice pace.
The Beat City half is more of the same, with added ska, but Suburban Toys do dip a toe into new waters with Jazz Bastard, which sees them go a little, well… jazzy.
The original version of Going Down is included as a bonus, and as an extra unlisted track they tackle the Dead Boys classic Sonic Reducer – and a very decent fist they make of it too!
All in all, this is a very listenable album, and I’d love to see Suburban Toys live, as there’s good musicianship and lots of energy in these songs. 7.5/10.
- Check out this Suburban Toys’ two-for-one album at their Bandcamp page HERE. It’s available digitally or on CD.
