Toby & The Whole Truth: Look Out (Vol.1) EP

It’s probably no surprise that from the Little Angels story, singer, guitarist and songwriter Toby Jepson is the only one of the mainstays of the band who finds himself some 30 years after their demise, still front and centre in the music business (in fairness, drummer Mark Richardson has also done some stellar work with Skunk Anansie and Feeder). That journey across the 3 mainly Angels free decades has been far from straight forward, with solo projects, Gun, Fastway and his very own Wayward Sons coming and going, although the latter do continue on.

The first band/project that Toby put together once his beloved Little Angels folded was Toby & The Whole Truth, through whom he released a single eclectic, largely misunderstood and under appreciated album. It’s taken a lot of time for the songwriter to come back round to working under that name but as its title suggests Look Out (Vol.1) is the first of three EPs set to be released by Toby & The Whole Truth in quick succession.

I’d suggest that the reason for going back to the Whole Truth banner is two-fold, firstly, these six tracks (and an introduction) are varied and while linked, pull influences from a number of places. The second is that lyrically Toby is really bearing his heart here and letting us inside his way of thinking, something the previous …& The Whole Truth release, Ignorance Is Bliss, also did many a year ago.

The Look Out journey begins with a short spoken introduction from the man himself detailing his thoughts and intentions behind this release and while it’s an interesting, honest look into the mental health journey the songwriter has been on and how he found his way through, once you’ve heard it a couple of times it does mean that track 1 here (harsh or not) will become a skipper. From there on things get very interesting indeed, “Alone With You� kicking us into gear properly. Immediately you hear that unmistakable Jepson howl, followed by a superb, controlled vocal. Backing all that is a sharp riff that takes us into almost AC/DC territory, but with a chorus I could easily imagine fitting on a Little Angels album. “Sweet Smell Of Success� follows, insistent beat dragging everything along eagerly before Toby’s long-time sparring partner Dave Kemp slams in some succulent sax work. Again, it’s not too far a stretch to imagine this track coming from Toby’s old musical stomping grounds. However, from here, the path begins to wind, “What Will It Take� opening like it’s the younger brother of “You Put A Spell On Me� by Screaming Jay Hawkins, before evolving into an emotion dripping slowie that really hits home.

The forceful but intricate “Throw It Away� proves a real slow grower, this initial stand-off track evolving into the most memorable on show, its grooving chorus joyous and catchy in all the best possible ways. “One Track Mind� feels like Squeeze playing an old 60s R&B hit, while “The One Turns Out The Light� proves to be an acoustic workout with an almost oompah-heart. It’s an odd ending, if exceedingly good fun.

It’s worth pointing out that even though there are six songs proper on this EP, the longest two are 3 minutes 36 seconds long, so blink and you might almost miss it. It is also just a little disjointed, but I think that was almost the intention here, Toby giving himself license to go out there and take these songs where his heart desires. Too few artists allow themselves this candid, free approach and Look Out (Vol.1) is all the stronger for it.

Track Listing
1. Introduction
2. Alone With You
3. Sweet Smell Of Success
4. What Will It Take
5. Throw It Away
6. One Track Mind
7. The One Turns Out The Light

Added: October 30th 2024
Reviewer: Steven Reid
Score:
Related Link: Toby Jepson online
Hits: 214
Language: english

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