Toy Love----Before there were Tall Dwarfs...The Loving Finger Points At....Cuts!

Who's At the bottom of your Swimming Pool?

Been listening to the wonderful Cuts anthology by New Zealand's Toy Love all weekend, released by Flying Nun back in 2005. Was always a huge fan of Tall Dwarfs, Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate's fantastic lo-fi DIY collaboration, and also Chris Knox's solo work and Bathgate's Gold Lame album. But I didn't really know much about Toy Love until I bought Cuts.

Knox is one of the legends of the New Zealand music scene, and in a just world, his legacy ought to straddle continents. One of the wildest, most charismatic, and uniquely talented performers. Sadly, in 2009, he suffered a debilitating stroke, at a relatively young age. Friends and admirers came together and put out the tribute album Stroke in order to help cover extensive medical costs. When people come together like this, it is a testament to his musical legacy, and also the high regard people have for him as a person. Like the Por Su Vida album for Alejandro Escovedo. Some of the performers on Stroke are AC Newman of the New Pornographers, the late Jay Reatard, Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel, Portastatic,Yo La Tengo, Will Oldham, Lou Barlow, and the Mountain Goats, plus a veritable who's who of New Zealand artists like Alec Bathgate, David Kilgour of the Clean, The Bats, Don McGlashan, The Chills, Verlaines, Jay Clarkson,  Hamish Kilgour, and Shayne Carter of Straitjacket Fits.

Tall Dwarfs I think are an essential part of a good music collection, but dip your toe into any part of Chris Knox's career and you will discover great music. Toy Love, the band he was in after the punkier band The Enemy is an equally good place to start. Cuts is a 40 track 2 Cd collection, with the first disc comprising their recorded output, their singles and sole album. The second disc has studio demos of many of these recordings plus a few more treats. I think the music is a little hard to categorize beyond say, punk or new wave. They sounded like a band that did what they wanted to do, in some ways like Tall Dwarfs performed with a full band. Serious at times, and at other times irreverent, experimental, crazy, sarcastic, lots of energetic fun. Fronted by the madness that is Chris Knox.

I feel I'm an extremely lucky person, because I did see Chris Knox perform in NYC quite a few years ago at the Mercury Lounge, at about the time his Songs of You & Me came out. It was one of the best shows I've ever been to. It wasn't Tall Dwarfs. Just Chris Knox's one man and a headset musical onslaught. I can't even remember so much of the specifics. It's like a Marx brothers movie, where things occurred so quickly that you are always onto the next gag, and forget what just happened because you have to try to keep up with the narrative. I don't know if I laughed more at a gig in my life. He had this manic look on his face while performing, and I remember that the opening act was Lida Husik, and he was completely taken by her name... he kept saying it over and over again. Lida Husik!!, Hu-sik, Husikk, Hoosik. He chewed up the scenery like Robert DeNiro. He had on a tank top and shorts,tribal tattoo on his arm, and played guitar and keyboards with his microphone headset on. He did so much improvisation, doing the poignant ballad about the love he has for his partner Barbara, but he changed all the words, making the song completely insane! I remember him squeezing in lyrics into the song about projectile vomiting!!! We also got to hear an improvised song that never made it to one of his albums, entitled "could somebody please buy me a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale"?

It was a memorable concert that I'll never forget. Even my buddy, the world's most interesting man enjoyed himself that night. He didn't know the music at all, but I know he was glad I dragged him to the show that night. I got to hear him sing Nothing's Going to Happen!Like the WMIM, I didn't know what hit me that night, but I enjoyed every minute of it. I couldn't help but scratch my head, because Mercury Lounge is a pretty small venue for an artist traveling from halfway around the world. I don't even know if they have a capacity of 200 people there, but even before a small crowd, he gave his manic all, and he seemed to enjoy putting on the show as much as we did watching him. There's nobody out there like him. Came that close to getting an armband tattoo.

And the Tall Dwarfs? Probably to Knox's cover artistry, I always described them to people as if Lennon and McCartney were resurrected as Zombies. It doesn't make sense, but in my own twisted mind it seems apt. Maybe it's also the horror/B-Movie references scattered through their tracks.

Hunks of Cold Cold Meat

But as far as Toy Love goes, this was just more great Chris Knox/Tall Dwarfs music that magically appeared to me in reissue form, like if an unknown Who album from the 60's was recovered from a vault. I'm talking about a treasure trove here. Punk rock, but also music reflected through the prism of rock and roll's past, like the Beatles and 50's music. I can also see the formative influence these guys must have had on better known groups like The Clean, and The Chills. In addition to Knox and Bathgate, Toy Love included Paul Kean on Bass, Jane Walker on Keyboards and Mike Dooley on Drums. Though together only about 2 years (1979-1980), their influence on the New Zealand scene must have been significant.



Probably the song that stands out for me on this collection is Sheep, a straight forward anthemic punk tune, for me one of the great New Zealand rock standards. On the other hand, you have a song like Swimming Pool, with great harmonies, sounding like the Soft Boys doing a garage rock tune. And all about dead rock stars!Rebel sounds like a punk rock version of a 60's girl group tune. Bride of Frankenstein is a Toy Love take on Country music, about basically what the title says, Frankenstein's monster in need of a mate. Pull Down the Shades is another one of my favorites, and this is why!



The Crunch is another great tune, kind of like Pointed Sticks, and sounds like The Clean's Getting Older was a response to this tune. I don't know for sure, but it sounds that way, with the "Getting Older" chorus. Squeeze is another classic, a new wavy pop song with a very catchy guitar riff. Equally winning is Don't Ask, which sounds like a punked out Beatles song. Another favorite is the high energy stuttery vocalled I Don't Mind, which has a fantastic bass line by Paul Kean. You also get the macabre Death Rehearsal, which according to the copious liner notes are character sketches of people they knew. I'd also be extremely remiss in not mentioning the unique song Frogs, which seems to go in a new direction every few seconds, with crazy improvisational lyrics, Mozart, acoustic guitars, noise. What a ride!



I can't recommend this any more highly. If you are one of the people unfamiliar with Chris Knox, it's high time you joined the party. I think he is one of the most singular, unique artists out there. If nothing else, he has certainly influenced a few generations of musicians beyond New Zealand that you probably love, like Pavement and Guided By Voices. And certainly anyone who picks up the Stroke tribute album is contributing to a worthy cause. Burning Sky Records has also has put out a Toy Love tribute collection All Stitched Up---and three bucks from every Cd goes directly to Chris Knox and his family. Not a lot of familiar names, but Burning Sky seems to do a fine job with tributes. There's Shayne Carter, Don McGlashan, Hamish Kilgour and Proud Scum. And its not too much of a contribution to give for someone who I consider one of the greats. Listen up and you'll love him as much as I do.