Caught in the Carousel

Toy Soldiers

Whisper Down the Lane
Mad Dragon

Toy Soldiers

Folk music is:

A) Amazing
B) Boring
C) Vile
D) A well respected art form

Before listening to the Toy Soldiers' Whisper Down the Lane I would have answered C. Emphatically.

I was more than pleasantly surprised by this album which is described as "American roots music" (aka Folk). But it's much more than that; a raucous blend of blues, rockabilly and bluegrass is perhaps a more apt description.

The Philadelphia band, with its cast of thousands (ok eight) started out as a duo. Singer Ron Gallo and "sort of drummer" Mark Baurer began writing and recording together and then started to create a name for themselves around Philly with their near constant live shows. At some point they discovered they were even better when surrounded with some very talented friends and the current line-up was born.

The opening track, "Throw Me Down" is flat out blues. With breathtaking vocals and heartbreaking lyrics like "You took my eyes, you took my soul, you took all the seeds that I needed to grow" this song is the perfect opener, grabbing your attention immediately. And for most of the album, the Toy Soldiers don't let go; cleverly switching from blues to rockabilly to rock and back again. "The Wretch," another high point on the album, is a more deceptive number. It's the type of song that will have you dancing around your living room with its upbeat tempo and "happy" guitar but then you stop dead when you hear the lyric "I'd sell my right hand for you to understand that your god forgot you when he made his master plan." A much darker and more interesting song than it appears at first glance.

Whisper Down The Lane is not without its flaws, though. "Beside You In Mind" is doleful and a definite low point (I never did make it all the way through) and there are parts of the album that are just too twangy for me, but the variety offered by the Toy Soldiers more than makes up for that.

Don't let the categorization of "American roots music" scare you off. Toy Soldiers is a unique, passionate and joyous band that is destined to be referenced as "groundbreaking" in the near future. I look forward to having my expectations about folk music blown apart by them for many years to come.

—Pamela Obenchain