To get a wholly impartial review of a-tota-so would be quite the accomplishment considering how well known and respected guitarist Marty “Party” Toner is in the UK scene. From decades slugging round the country in Alright The Captain and a-tota-so, to near single-handedly making Nottingham the go to stop for post bands that venture past London, Toner is held in high regard and rightfully so. Luckily, with I Told You So, a play on the mispronunciation of band’s name, no bias is required to emphasise its excellence. Like Toner himself the enthusiasm and passion that shows on the surface runs continuously and deeply through the tracks. Sliding slightly from its math rock origins, a-tota-so has evolved into a great post and alt rock hybrid and I Told You So is a wonderful expression of that progress.
There have been subtle changes in sound over the three albums with previous effort Lights Out adding in vocals of guest contributors. This saw live shows with scores of additional people taking the mic to add their own flavours to the tracks as well as Toner himself getting involved. On I Told You So Toner fully utilises his voice as the lead vocalist and it’s certainly been worth waiting for. Whilst the opening few tracks have a more post-hardcore shouted approach as the album progresses so does the vocal performance and by the time personal highlight ‘No Tears No Sound’ hits with a blend of Therapy? and Baroness riffs and vocal lines, Toner sounds completely at home as a harmonic vocalist.
Musically, math may seem to have fallen away with the alt-rock tag taking far more prominence. However, even when opener ‘Death Rattle’ hints at Rage Against The Machine about to rip forth, the foundations of math rock are still apparent. The structure of the sounds still has a bit of a staccato form and there are certainly the combinations that made the first few Biffy Clyro albums so cherished. There are memorable vocal hooks which amplify the musical hooks and so many of the earworms keep coming back even after the album has finished. ‘GRlD’ ends with a looping “you’ll have to love, you’ll have to live with all these consequences/things you’ve done” while Masks has “crack that mask you’ll see the fear” which are so catchy they reappear in daily life when least expected. The finding of the voice of Toner just gives everything here more impact and weight as the band has another instrument to produce its sound.
I Told You So is the perfect evolution of the band and pushes forward without abandoning the past. There are huge moments which would appeal to the fans where math and alt collide. The Northern Irish twang harks to Therapy? whilst the music leads to early Biffy and even some of the angles and power of And So I Watch You From Afar. The lyrics are just as catchy as the riffs and with the consistent voice delivering them it makes the promise of the last album a far more complete package. No sycophantic words are required to give this a glowing review, the music does it all itself. This is a glorious evolution in sound and scope and let’s hope that resonates widely.
