Vocals have this great knack of luring people into falling for music they might otherwise find too tweaked. Ruth Wilson’s efforts on Toby1’s Cracks Increase are
definitely testament to that. Good reference points for her style are people like Moloko’s Róisín Murphy, Portishead’s Beth Gibbons and even on occasion the Cocteau Twins’
Liz Fraser.
Basically we’re talking a great mix of the earthy and the otherworldly, and Duann Scott’s electronics follow suit. The two members of Toby1 together maintain a beautiful counterpoint between more traditional instrumentation – electric piano, guitar, woodwind and singing – and
heavily sculpted textures and beats. A guitar might form a groove, but will stutter and stammer as it twangs along, or a gentle keyboard part will short out abruptly like a
broken radio. Layers of vocals are dragged through the mud and come out all the better for it. Notwithstanding all the
perversity and diversity on display, Cracks Increase is ultimately an album of great songs, and a remarkably accomplished debut.
