Music Existence Because of Music, We Exist
In 87 and the Toys’ The Smile Room, the much-hyped Texas indie rock group takes elements from across the pop spectrum and combines them to make truly imaginative, wholeheartedly diverse tracks that don’t play by the same rules that most EPs of its kind are forced to adhere to. Right from the jump in the bouncy “All You Can Eat Sushi,” giant grooves are made the central focus, with everything else following the order set forth by a raucous, well-organized rhythm.
We slip and slide through the glowing guitar play of “Shopping Mall,” get lost in the hypnotic swagger of “Flying Saucers,” and re-emerge from a cloud of catharsis and melancholy entwined in “You.” The stadium-shaking hooks keep on coming in “Tremont Street,” and by the time “Aitai” poetically puts The Smile Room to rest with its intoxicating vibrancy and eruptive harmonies, it’s as if 87 and the Toys have just summed up their entire artistic identity inside of a fleeting but memorable anthology of aesthetical gems.
The tracks “Shopping Mall,” “Flying Saucers” and “Aitai,” all of which can be released as singles, feature black and white constructions, slightly familiar beats, and enormous vocal harmonies, but I would stop short of describing them as conventional in stylization. 87 and the Toys aren’t trying to recreate the standard rock model in these songs; as I see it, they’re fashioning tried and true variations of a classic sound with post-punk-inspired dreaminess, lavish instrumental interludes and pumping percussion that makes us want to dance just as often as it makes us think about the meaning behind the tempo.
Their ambitions aren’t that different from those of the New England alternative rockers ala Dinosaur Jr. and the Pixies, but with a bit less of an emphasis on apocalyptic guitar solos. What sets 87 and the Toys apart from those groups isn’t just their attitude towards composing, but their method of making a melody the center of our attention, even when the rhythm surrounding it is visceral, harsh, or abstract to us. They’re expanding on a style that never really came into its own some thirty-five years ago, and at the same time inventing something new that is truly and completely their own.
If The Smile Room is on par with what we can expect to hear and see out of 87 and the Toys shortly, then I’m certain that they aren’t going to remain under the radar of mainstream audiences for much longer. 2023 has been a very interesting year for pop music of all varieties, and while I wouldn’t call this record the most impactful that I’ve listened to all year, it’s got some special qualities to it that make its six songs very agreeable with indie rock fiends of most any taste or background.
Hopefully, it won’t be too much longer before we see a complete album out of this group, but even if they take their time before returning to the recording process, I’ll be thrilled at the opportunity to review their forthcoming work all the same.
Brent Musgrave
