Review Summary: At a certain point a laundry joke will come to mind
San Francisco local dream pop band
Melted Toys don't exactly break the mold but they do provide some enjoyable material on their debut EP
Washed & Dried. ‘Come On’ delivers a warm welcome that's reminiscent of Beach House or Cocteau Twins tracks although, never coming close to achieving any Elizabeth Fraser levels of aptitude. In fact, the vocals throughout the record while serene are often sparse and redundant.
Further into the album we start to see the vocals develop more, notably in ‘Preforms’ and ‘Wild Waves’. Musically, you’ll likely find what you’re looking for in most dream-pop releases, riffs drenched in chorus and reverb complimented with day-dream invoking melodies. A spontaneous sax solo mimics the vocal harmonies in the track ‘Wild Waves’, while ‘Neuzone’ offers a glimpse of the completely instrumental side of the group. One of the more memorable parts of the record is how seamlessly ‘Portals’ switches cleanly to a fuzzed-out chorus and bridge while remaining completely cohesive.
While Melted Toys have surely flattered with several tracks, others tend to fall short as far as leaving any sort of imprint. ‘Lost Connection’ lacks the juxtaposition seen in ‘Portals’ or the catchiness of ‘Preforms’ while ‘Washed & Dried’ seems to be missing some the lushness found in ‘Come On’. Instead we’re presented with haphazard vocals that seem to repeat themselves one too many times over what sounds like a rundown Casio keyboard. That being said, ‘Neuzone’ being more or less an interlude track holds up with it’s aquatic-like textures and over-saturated ambience. The result is an overall pleasant listening experience but future efforts may require more growth for full potential to showcase.
