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Freeplay: Toys for Elliot
By Cassie Hood
hoodc@mscd.edu

Toys for Elliot
Toys for Elliot
(My Mean Magpie, 1995)

In this world’s rushed lifestyle, it’s nice to have a calming album. Toys for Elliot’s self-titled release is one such that will pacify even the most frazzled nerves.

Kymberly Drake on piano and Five Seventeen on guitar play together like two old friends jamming out in a basement. Their mindless banter in between songs, most notably on “Come Away (Intro),” makes the release feel like lo-fi pop.

Drake’s and Seventeen’s voices combine with a gentle playfulness so that at times it is hard to decipher who is actually singing. On “Song for Elliot” Drake wallows and painfully wails while Seventeen accompanies her. Each song on the album feels bright and bouncy, but “Song for Elliot” deceivingly starts with giggling then jumps right into Drake’s vocals. A sedate guitar gently strums as a hushed recorder plays in the foreground.

“This is Not About You,” though short, is full of emotion. It’s a brief interlude of Seventeen on guitar while Drake coarsely and angrily explains her love and then repeats “Shut up now” over and over, growing more livid as she goes.

Seventeen’s high, not-so-masculine vocals take the lead in “Come Away” as Drake timidly cries in the background. The song’s lo-fi quality is enhanced by Seventeen’s simple fretwork. One of the longest tracks on the album, it is also the most heart-wrenching.

The album’s best song, however, is “Sleepguitar.” Seventeen whispers out this ballad full of sadness and irritation. As it progresses Drake sings opposite the male vocals, making the song like a conversation between two forlorn, lovesick people. Here Drake’s voice is full of confidence. Seventeen, while still timid in vocals, adds emotion with his phenomenal guitar work.

The only real downfall on Toys for Elliot is the repetitive and long-winded “Deliciousist.” Toward its end the randomly interjected quips of “tastes delicious” and “yuuummmm” become unbearable. It lacks any real musical value, and it’s hard to understand why it was included on the release.

Getting away from the annoying song on the album isn’t hard, and it is smooth sailing from there. Sometime it’s nice to sit back and relax, and Toys for Elliot makes it possible with at the push of a button.