Different sounds and different reasons for liking these bands but both have so much to offer the listener. I'm gonna put out a review for the Torn Sail release really soon so keep looking however I wrote a review for Toronto Blessings some time ago and a copy is below..........
Barnsley, South Yorkshire has a burning star called Toronto Blessings and for a 3 piece band they manage to make more noise than all the Super Reds Barnsley Football fans put together. I'm not sure what the connection is with Canada and why they decided to refer to Toronto in their name but Barnsley should be proud that they owned them first. The members are Dale Evans-Guitar/Vocals, Rik Whitehead-Vocals/Bass, Richard Murray-Drums/Vocals and they all share in making as much noise as possible.
This 7 track album starts straight off with Hopes/Dreams and hard, driving bass and drums, compulsive guitar and vocals that are barely in control. I'm showing my age here but track 1 at times reminded me of the legendary Killing Joke's song Wardance. I loved it at 2 mins 32 secs when the bass gets really nasty. I'd never heard of this band before but after that first track I went straight on their facebook page and 'liked' them……you should too.
Track 2 Uvu has a guitar sound that just makes my teeth itch…..lovely stuff, I'm still finding it hard to believe that this is just a 3 piece band! I can hear Idles and if ever the Sleaford Mods decide to use guitar, bass and drums then I'm sure they would sound like this, in fact Toronto Blessings should have the aka Sleaford Idles name to help wannabe fans understand their sound (in my humble opinion).
Track 3 Good News Everybody is patient and only at around 1 min 30 secs do they reveal the money notes that make this a great number. The songs are coming fast and furious now with Survival Techniques and Invasions although the latter track is relatively calmer compared to the others by Toronto Blessings' highly charged standards and then suddenly track 6 No Falling at just 1 min 9 secs long shows a different side to the band and perhaps a style they will come back to on another recording-slow, disturbing, more thoughtful and experimental and a style I'd personally love the guys to develop into future songs.
The album ends with track 7 Asleep, the longest song at 5 mins 41 secs and has elements of all the other songs which leaves you wanting more from this Barnsley star called Toronto Blessings. My burning question now is …….where can I see them play?I'llI'l