One of the oddest and most extraordinary band of the past two years has been London’s My Toys Like Me. Made up of beautiful, tall, helium-voiced supermodel-esque Frances Noon and a white, average looking computer boffin named Lazlo Legezer (real name: Augustus Fernald), this duo sounds for all the world like a lo-fi Ting Tings crossed with a stoned Portishead singing over a broken Atari 2600 soundtrack. Obviously, brilliant. Laz started as an enthusiast before moving the Prague and assuming his name as well as his identity as a DJ and electronica musician (there are a few releases under his real name and alias prior to MTLM). Binz (as Noon is known – that’s fun to say, try it) played around with a few other bands before settling down with MTLM and embarking truly on a music career.
And, so far, in their short career, they’ve made three vinyl-only singles and a handful of other songs that have leaked onto the net – but lorks-o-lordy, they’re good. Their first single, October 2006’s “Sick Couple” (thanks to eardrumsmusic.com) is a braindead love song, with Frances crooning about how hard it is being pretty and kissing in public while Lazlo makes weird plinky noises on god-knows what. The Yoad Nevo remix is slightly superior to the Lazlo mix, but they’re both brilliant. “Barnaby,” coming out in August 2007 on white label only, is even more bizarre – a weird and largely meaningless journey with a petulant girl and her toys, set during a hyperactive a game of Gyruss. Video, anyone? The bside differs in that its slightly faster. Weird, wonderful.
But it’s MTLM’s latest single, this year’s “All Over My Face” that sees the band create their first truly great song. The Host Remix gives the lyrics a down-tempo field, surrounding it in space. But the J-Star Remix is truly astounding – a sci-fi bluebeat shocker that lazes, glamorously, in “a barmy afternoon at a street carnival after a few rum punches,” to quote the label. The horns, the shuffling, stop-start drums, the mood, all combine lovingly to create the truly great Summer song you’ve been missing.
Other songs available include “Skylights” (think Disco Inferno producing Goldfrapp), “Gold Lace” (think Timbaland versus Thievery Corporation), “The Way Young Lovers Do,” (a collapsing waltz lovesong), “Bats” (Bjork in a blender), “Sun Chaser” (okay, I’m done with the dumb descriptions now), “Making Fire,” “Wisheso” and “Coach Station,” mostly available on their MySpace page or a leaked demo album called “Where We Are.”
My Toys Like Me – Sick Couple (Yoad Nevo Remix) – Sick Couple 7″, no label
My Toys Like Me – Sick Couple (Lazlo Legezer Mix A)
My Toys Like Me – Barnaby (Mix A) – Barnaby 12″, white label
My Toys Like Me – Barnaby (Mix B)
My Toys Like Me – All Over My Face (J-Star Remix) – All Over My Face 7″, Stupid Angel Records
My Toys Like Me – All Over My Face (Host Remix)
