Shiny Toy Guns’ Season of Poison

One thing I think any starting band/musician would love is to have their music featured on a TV show, or movie. Something about it just seems to catapult them to popularity. Then, the challenge to maintain that status would come in later. For a group I’ve never heard of till yesterday, it’s their song Season of Love that brought them to my attention. Here’s a brief bio of the band.

Shiny Toy Guns was formed in 2001 at LA. The band currently consists of Sisely Treasure (vocals), Gregori Chad Petree (vocals, guitar), Jeremy Dawson (synths, bass) and Mikey Martin (drums). It was Chad and Jeremy who founded the band. They released their first album in 2005, called We Are Pilots. They re-released it two more times, both having revisions, and different lablels. Their second album was released November last year. They’ve appeared on the David Letterman Show, and Yo Gabba Gabba (I have no Idea what that is). Their music has been featued in popular games such as FIFA and GTA. In 2007, their first album, We Are Pilots received a Grammy nomination for Best Electronic/Dance Album, but lost to The Chemical Brothers. Most recent feature of their music is on Gossip Girl’s Season 2 finale. You can check out their website here, or follow them on twitter.

Their 2008 album, Season of Poison, is quite an interesting mix of ethereal, Goldfrapp-like music, to something that sounds like a fusion of Muse and Incubus, to a The Postal Service Telepopmusik mix, and a mix of all these artists. To an extent it may seem like they have no personal identity. But, despite sounding like so many other artists out there, they seem to be able to mix their influences, and inject their own personality into their music, and make it something quite distinct. I’m on my second pass on their album as I type, and I must say, “Quite enjoyable” is an understatement. I love the variety and diversity of the tracks in this album that I will have a third and fourth pass at this…perhaps even more? I’m currently in between my electronica-alternative phase, so this album is definitely perfect. Tracks off the album I’m currently loving are Season of Love (for obvious reasons), Turned to Real Life, and Ricochet. I love turned to real life because one, the vocals sound like that blonde singer in Quarterlife, and the feel of the song is just so hippy happy. Ricochet, unlike the earlier track is the exact opposite. It’s punk and badass, something you’d probably hear off a vampire/action movie soundtrack, and I really like that. I suggest that you get a copy, or visit their myspace page to get a sample of their music.

Oh yeah, on a 10-disc scale (1=never ever hearing it again vs 10=absolutely perfect!!!), I give it a 7. For the sheer awesomeness of the music and the album’s diversity.