'Ingleside Terrace'
(Dischord Records)
In the few short years that Washington D.C.'s French Toast has been a band, they've transcended more musical boundaries than all of the Dischord Records back catalog put together. The band, which initially consisted of James Canty (The Make Up) and Jerry Busher (Fugazi's drum tech/tour manager), burst onto the scene with an album that captured elements of variance which included Dinosaur Jr. and The Pixies, spun in a way that uniquely trademarked them as products of former DC bands.
On the band's second full length album, the addition of Ben Gilligan to the mix adds a new twist to the previous sound of French Toast. The new French Toast (and I feel like I'm writing a new menu for I-Hop when I say that) is infused with heavy doses of garage-rock that brings to mind the Jason Lowenstein side of later Sebadoh albums. There's still refinement and dissonance within the realm of French Toast, but it's displaced and slapped around in a way that's completely off kilter from any previous French Toast offerings. Very unexpected, but very very welcome new record from French Toast. Proceed to track six if you want to get your ass handed to you.
myspace.com/frenchtoastdc to stream selections from 'Ingleside Terrace'
-BT
