Season of Poison

Shiny Toy Guns

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 4, 2008)
• Original Release Date: November 4, 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Universal Motown
• ASIN: B001GOKGCQ
• In-Print Editions: Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (50 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #5,140 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

"Season of Poison" is the highly anticipated sophomore album from Shiny Toy Guns. The album is the follow up to their critically acclaimed Grammy nominated debut record We Are Pilots which was released in 2006. The band spent the better half of 2 years on and off the road progressing their dance/rock and electronic roots. Once again producing the album by themselves, founding members Chad Petree (vocals, guitar) and Jeremy Dawson (synthesizer, bass) used 2008 technology to marry dynamic late-70's style synthesizer programming with face-erasing stoner rock; gently spreading this over layer upon layer of ethnic and tribal rhythms. Not to mention their keen pop sense in lyrics and arrangement have collided with the legendary mixing abilities of super-engineer Andy Wallace to create a completely new color in the future-forward musical spectrum. The first single off of Season Of Poison is "Ricochet", a heavy rhythmic guitar laden song already being heard on radio stations across the nation.

Season of Poison marks an evolution for the band not only sonically but in the band dynamics as well. Sisely Treasure from the band Cooler Kids replaced departed vocalist Carah Faye Charnow who left the group this past summer to pursue other interests. Dawson explains, "We moved forward with our initial choice for co-lead singer of the band in 2002, longtime friend Sisely Treasure. At that time she was still locked into her Dreamworks Records deal with her former project Cooler Kids and we were not able to professionally move forward with her. So we have returned to the exact original idea and lineup that Shiny Toy Guns was meant to be." With a new singer who is also now a writing partner to Petree and Dawson, Treasure brings in whole new complimentary perspective to the band. The result is a hard rocking, groove shaking album that will appeal to die hard Shiny Toy Guns fans and new ones alike.

The mercurial foursome (which also includes Mikey Martin on drums), has been described as everything from 'glam-goth-new wave-chic' to 'electronic mash-up with a dance floor destroyer,' thanks to their riveting breakthrough single "Le Disko" which topped the charts in 2006. The playful dance-anthem permeated radio and clubs, was featured in advertisements for Motorola and Apple and was a single of the week on iTunes' playlist. The band also was a "MTVU Freshman Five Artists for Fall 2006" as well as a MTV and MTV2 Discover and Download artist. They appeared on several television shows such as The Late Show with David Letterman, Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Kimmel Live. The positive attention and legendary live shows led to an incredible accolade for the band, a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Album this past year.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars When Identity Trumps Expectation..., November 14, 2008

By	A. Engel (Maine, USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I really enjoy when a band who has hit it big with one overinflated song, in this case Le Disko, gives the middle finger to the world and puts out an album that ignores what's expected.

Shiny Toy Guns has turned their fanbase upside down with Season of Poison. For those who didn't know it while snapping their fingers to the catchy tunes on We Are Pilots, this has always been Chad Petree's band. Ex-member Carah Faye Charnow is no doubt an enormous talent, but she was window-dressing on Chad Petree's and Jeremy Dawson's masterpiece, and hardly integral to the genius of it.

Season of Poison expands on the tones hinted at on Pilots by songs like "Chemistry of a Car Crash" and "You Are The One". Petree's vocals are a beautiful mix of nostalgia and heartache. The electronic blips and beeps from Pilots have graduated to clever guitar progressions that are easy to write off as noise at first. I expect those fans who were drawn to the more Pop-like elements of We Are Pilots will be the first to peel away when presented with the challenge of the brutal guitar riffs on "Ricochet". At least they can take solace in the dismal cover of "Turn To Real Life", a song I consider the weakest and most out of place track on the album.

The new vocalist, Sisley Treasure, holds her own throughout the set. She is obviously less talented than Carah Faye, yet her voice suits the tone of Season of Poison in a way that Carah Faye's wouldn't. Sisley's shaky moments on "Ghost Town" and "Turn To Real Life" are instantly forgiven upon hearing her brilliant, epic performance on the closer, "Frozen Oceans", a fist-in-the-air heartbreaker that will no doubt close a future "best of" tracklist.

No review of Season of Poison would be complete without mentioning the drama of the centerpiece track, "Poison"- an 8-minute gem that might hint at the direction in which Shiny Toy Guns is moving on future albums. The music is dark, dramatic, and urgent, with Petree's vocals sounding more a late 70's Pre-New Wave than the the expected 80's revival Shiny Toy Guns has become known for.

The challenge of Season of Poison is to let go of the innocence of We Are Pilots. With this bold progression, Shiny Toy Guns has reinforced one of the oldest music dilemmas: you either embrace change or you live in the past, destined to be trapped by the music genre of your youth. Personally, I can't wait to hear what Shiny Toy Guns does next.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite a Sophomore "slump"... but not a "success", April 14, 2009

By	D. Lawson "KenCho" (IL, United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Let's get this out of the way: I loved We Are Pilots dearly. It was imperfect and fresh, and vibrated with a sense of purpose lyrically and musically. If Shiny Toy Guns had debuted with this album instead of that, I probably wouldn't be bothering to write a review.

Blanket statement, "Season of Poison" is a decent followup, but doesn't quite top their last. There are moments where it shines, and overall it's a commendable effort, but the songwriting's somewhat weaker. The sound on the first half feels more like Paramore+Snow Patrol+Gwen Stefani, and less like something unique. It could be Sisely Treasure's added songwriting input bringing them down, or it could be the rest of the band kind of losing their way in the heady opiate of success (it's happened to better bands so they are not immune). However it happened, they didn't fall TOO far, but I feel they slipped a notch.

That said, the beginning three tracks are all killer - even though, personally, I could have done without Treasure's super-angsty screaming on "When Did This Storm Begin?" The phrase "trying too hard" comes to mind on that one, especially. Still, so far so good. The first single (in tracklist order, anyway) "Ghost Town" rocks, but other than that it's kind of a forgettable, rallying-cry tune. The other one, "Ricochet!" is similarly mediocre. Between those is a nice-but-nothing tune that reeks of filler.

Y'know, the cover of Peter Schilling's "Major Tom" they released recently on their website (go download now - it's free!) sounds better than much of what would be Side 1 on an LP. Just an observation... back to the review.

It's after we get that out of the way that it begins to feel like a Shiny Toy Guns album again. Songwriting and intricate melodies become the focus instead of catchy hooks and middle-finger-in-the-air lyrics. "Season of Love" is unexpectedly sweet and earnest, with this odd kind of Tarzan beat going on behind it. "Poison" nears epic status, reminiscent of "Starts With One" from the last album - and ends with a dark, lengthy pipe organ piece(!) that bleeds into the next song, "Blown Away". Which, by the by, does as its title promises. Lastly, "Turned To Real Life" and "Frozen Oceans" are beautiful, amazing tracks that are sure to lift you up - and also showcase why they hired Treasure as a replacement vocalist a LOT better than any of the earlier cuts.

So overall, if you've never bought a STG album, I wouldn't start here... but if you have the first one and are wondering if it's worth taking Poison, it totally is. Just don't expect it to be 100% awesome from beginning to end.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not "Blown Away" By This Album, February 12, 2009

By	Ran Estrada (San Antonio, TX USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Season Of Poison (MP3 Download)

It's just not very good. Sicely Treasure has audible deficiencies that can border on annoying. The first track had so much promise but when she started to squeal through it, I knew I was in for a world of pain. Carah Faye had a wonderful airiness and pop slickness about her that complemented the rest of the group's talent perfectly.

I think it's cool when bands try out new sounds and I'm glad some fans are happy with this outing, however, I'm not one of them. "Season Of Poison" is like "We Are Pilots" remixed with nails on a chalkboard. Don't like, don't want.