The BurgerBlog

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

Shiny Toy Guns did it the old fashioned way: they weren’t the children of rock stars and didn’t buy into a quick one hit wonder scheme. They made their way to a music contract through a MySpace fan base and some really good music. We Are Pilots brings an 80’s pop flavor to the current alternative scene to present some new ideas to the music industry.

Shiny Toy Guns

Shiny Toy Guns has a high paced approach to their music. The first two songs, “You Are the One” and “Le Disko” are must-downloads. “You Are the One” is an energetic love ballad that is fun to listen to and doesn’t grow old. “Le Disko” has been completely commercialized; you’ll find it on TV and on the radio. It’s there for good reason. Carah Faye, Shiny Toy Guns’ female vocalist, brings an angry edge that makes the track sexy and headstrong. Think of a movie where the protagonist walks away from an exploding building casually. “Le Disko” should be the song in the background.

The first two songs sadly don’t speak for the rest of the album. “Starts With One,” “When They Came for Us,” “Waiting,” “Shaken,” and “Weather Girl” are all boring tracks, and they make up 40% of the album. It becomes difficult to wade through We Are Pilots to find decent songs when Shiny Toy Guns injected rubbish that draws away from their gems, like “Rainy Monday” and “Jacky Will Save Me.” Unfortunately, the five dull tracks also highlight what is wrong with this band. When male vocalist Chad Petree sings, he sounds good. When he goes into a falsetto, it’s not so good, even though that seems to be his disposition. The hooks are nothing new. Synths alone do not make a song.

The tracks on We Are Pilots are largely hit or miss. Shiny Toy Guns needs to keep to their high paced sound at the beginning of the album; it works for them. Also, Carah Faye’s vocals are fantastic. Her tracks are widely fun and easy to listen to. She has since left Shiny Toy Guns. We should expect great things from her, and from Shiny Toy Guns once they get their act together.

Rating: C

Recommended Songs: Le Disko, Rainy Monday, You Are the One

Toss These Songs: Weather Girl, Waiting