by Jeremy Winslow (@_pbnjer)
What started out as a solo project in 2014 before growing into a four piece group, the Oakland, California-based slacker rock band Toner is back with another full-length record. Silk Road, the band’s third LP and fifth overall project following the 2017 record Killing Pace, sees Toner far more polished than ever before. While a refinement in sound is expected after five separate records, the most striking thing about Toner’s songwriting this time around is not just its maturity but the amount of variety the band manages to pack into Silk Road’s brisk twenty minute runtime.
Scouring Bandcamp, it’s easy to write Toner off as just another lo-fi, slacker rock band aping off the revived shoegaze sound popularized by outfits like Hundredth, Nothing, Yuck, and the like. While Toner fits snuggly into that mold, playing alternative rock slathered in effects like fuzz and reverb, the four piece surprisingly blend genres to create a sound unique to them. It’s an enticing amalgam of bedroom pop, surf rock, shoegaze, and lo-fi punk. As a result, Silk Road is a journey of slower, melodic cuts and upbeat, summery tracks perfect for a day in the sun.
Take the record’s first two songs, “’95 Slow” and “Smoov”. Both expertly set Silk Road’s mood, two blissed-out tracks that see Toner flexing not only its love of effects but also its penchant for warbly solos and slick guitar licks. These songs are bouncy and fun, featuring a cascading mix of clean and distorted tones that create a dynamic cacophony of noise. Though noise is a prominent part of Toner’s sound, the band isn’t a one-trick pony. Deeper into Silk Road is “B.C. Hope,” a slower cut that shows off Toner’s shoegaze chops before it explodes into a two-step rhythm, and “Cherry Plaza,” a jangly tune that has a lot more in common with surf rock than anything else. These are just four highlights from Silk Road’s ten tracks, all of which run the gamut of styles from fuzzy acoustic pop to grungy indie rock.
Not every track on Silk Road is long, though, with more than half of them barely crossing the minute and a half mark. The record can feel incredibly short, especially when the final track, “Heavy Glow” comes to an abrupt end after a pretty cool solo. Despite its brevity, Silk Road is an enjoyable listen that’s filled with dreamy pop rock not confined inside of any particular box. Toner, on this latest record, experiment with a variety of sounds with aplomb. Silk Road is all the better for it thanks to Toner’s insistence on experimentation with noise, genres, and dynamics.