Shiny Toy Guns: Season of Poison
Shiny Toy Guns
After We Are Pilots, I expected good things from Shiny Toy Guns. They were great in concert and their singles kept my interest in the band piqued. And then Carah Faye left, Sisely Treasure (The Pussycat Dolls Present: The Search For the Next Doll) joined, and the band seemed to go downhill from there. Their sophomore album, Season of Poison, is a disappointment at best.
In their new album, the Shiny Toy Guns tried to go in a new direction. They nix a lot of their synth sound and replace it with heavy guitar (“Money For That” is a good example of a misguided Shiny Toy Guns rock ballad), and even ask their new lead to rap. The result? Treasure becomes an emo cheerleader, and this isn’t a compliment. The only track that this really works on is “Ricochet!,” the first single that this album offers.
Season of Poison comes close to having similar singles as We Are Pilots, but they all barely miss the mark. “Ghost Town” would have sounded great with Carah Faye, but Treasure’s chirpy cheer ruins the quasigothic aim of the song. “Season of Love” is a sappy love song with a tribal drumbeat. It’s a nice try, but nothing that stands out. “Poison,” my favorite track on the album, does bring something new: it’s angry and somewhat gospel rock. Unfortunately, this track, along with “Blown Away,” gets muddled with the half-assed attempts from the filler tracks earlier in the album.
Shiny Toy Guns, Season of Poison is a disappointment. One can only hope that the band reverts to its roots found in We Are Pilots and continues in that direction.
Rating: D
Recommended Songs: Poison, Blown Away
Toss These Songs: Frozen Oceans, It Became a Lie On You