Toadies – The Lower Side of Uptown

'The Lower Side of Uptown' is like Toadies plus one....
Toadies : The Lower Side of Uptown
7.7 Kirtland
2017 

Toadies : The Lower Side of UptownThe Lower Side of Uptown is like Toadies plus one. Meaning it is a bit more sophisticatedly soft than usual, though “Broke Down Stupid” is as loud as ever and ”Sorry, sorry, I know sometimes I act shitty / Can I make it good?” is a line of classic toadies pain.

But songs like “Take Me Alive” and opener “When I Die” see a magic of philosophical interest. “Polly Jean” and “Amen” are raucous, and the highs are high to be cheez-y in Uptown, but tracks such as “You Know The Words” and “Mommma Take Me Home” are so complex that they may make casual fans long for simpler tunes like stagey and jamming “Keep Breathing” a riff reminiscent of radio-hit “Away”. While coincidently, “I Put a Spell on You” is also rockingly cosmic.

Ending with a song called “Sentimental” is perfect. Toadies are still the Toadies of old in the lyrics on The Lower Side of Uptown, but display more obsessively blended with a strained and classic composition. Toadies just finished a tour with fellow aging romantics Local H, but given their attitudes, and energy on Uptown, they end up more classic rock amphitheatre than aged.

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