Whither indie pop in the 21st century? It’s a question that I keep forgetting to ask yet it would appear that there is still life in the genre especially if you add some soft rock into the equation as My Raining Stars do with their album “Toy Club”.
With introspection rating highly in the list of topics for the lyrics, My Raining Stars – aka Thierry Haliniak and assorted associates – nonetheless keep things running on the right side of fey with these nine songs doing a nice job of mixing melody with soft rock sensibilities whilst always remembering to take things to the bridge just like they did back in the day. The vocals are restrained but I would suppose that is the point as these aren’t songs destined to change the world. They are, however, songs that remind us that jangly guitars can have more than historical interest and, in that endearingly mellow indie pop way, My Raining Stars nonetheless make their musical mark.
“Toy Club” sounds like an album from decades ago – and, indeed, like an album that should only have been released on cassette – but few would deny that there is a warmth surrounding these songs that make them seem more like friends you haven’t seen on a while rather than songs that just walked out in front of you on your way to the post office. To put it another way, albums like this make people want to buy a cardigan. It’s an indie pop thing.
Available from Bandcamp and the usual digital places.