Stove
Is A Toad In The Rain
Exploding In Sound Records
I wasn’t familiar with Steve Hartlett’s previous band, Ovlov, so I didn’t go into hearing his latest project Stove with any preconceived expectations of fuzzy guitars and feedback drenched noise disguised as a melodies. Instead, Stove’s Is a Toad In The Rain greeted me with mostly pretty, plinky planky guitar tracks that were off kilter in a Lou Barlow fashion. Lyrically driven folk pop songs that hide behind just enough crunch and white noise to make them wonderfully spacey.
All of the aggressive energy that’s subdued on the bulk of the EP makes itself seen on “Mrs. Robertson.” And when I saw Stove perform live recently, it was this side of their personality that was most prevalent. The quiet, lo-fi alterna-dreaminess of “Graduate and Congratulate” or “Dumb Phone” was not present in the dark room in which they set fire. Stove, which are full on four-piece, shook the window panes with their unexpected volume (“Keep turning it up until you think it’s too loud,” Hartlett instructed the sound guy). This was not the subtle and beautiful band I’d listened to on record, and that was kind of awesome. It also made the record that much more impressive for the power that it withheld.
Like a closed can of beer that’s fallen from the bar, been kicked across the floor for an hour, and then handed to an unsuspecting patron. Stove, live, is that can of beer popped open. At least they were the night I saw them.
https://soundcloud.com/explodinginsoundrecords/sets/stove-is-a-toad-in-the-rain-ep
