...A Toys Orchestra - Life Begins at Midnight

In the new millennium, can you still manage to break out of Italy's chronic provincialism?

A group of young guys from Agropoli (Salerno) gave it a shot, and within the space of a few years became proof that, with the right ideas, a fully realized vision in mind, and above all some great songs, you can still aim for important goals - even without starting out at the center of the world.

The story of ...A Toys Orchestra begins in 1998, in a small town in Campania where youth bands formed and broke up all the time. Enzo Moretto and Raffaele Benevento played in Mesulid, Ilaria D'Angelis in Sugar And Cyanide; it was 1997, and since there were no rehearsal spaces in town, local bands rented houses to try out their material.

Mesulid and Sugar ended up rehearsing in the same place, and crossed paths musically - that was the beginning of the story. Enzo, Ilaria and Raffaele formed the first nucleus of ...A Toys Orchestra, together with drummer Fabrizio Verta, and began writing their first original songs, drawing on the alt-rock sounds that had been so popular in the Nineties, blending together Pixies, Nirvana, a whirlwind of post-punk and grunge, with a strong focus on melody.

The band recorded their first demos, and one of their tapes won over Fridge Records, who agreed to include a Toys track on the compilation they released every year. Shortly after, a full 74-minute album was ready, Job, released in 2001 - a work that already shows clear early traces of the band's future sound, found for instance in the super-catchy "Dance Of The Moth".

Job is an instinctive record, at times still naive, containing thirteen tracks, some of them quite sprawling (as many as nine run over five minutes), making room for numerous instrumental interludes and improvisations that turn into genuine mini-jams, something that happens already in the opening "Joy-Killer-Day" and even more so in the more structured "Learn To Unlearn" and "Merry-Go-Round". Job was heavily influenced by the alternative rock scene that defined much of the Nineties, but the quartet's own personality was already pushing through. Not every track can be considered fully successful, but the first seeds had been sown.

In the following months the creative process kept moving relentlessly, and in fact intensified further: Moretto wasted no time and made sure to send recordings of the new songs to plenty of labels across the country. In the end it was Paolo Naselli Flores of Urtovox who took them under his wing, struck by some of the demos he'd heard.

In the meantime the lineup expanded to a fifth member, Fausto Ferrara, who helped mark an opening toward new directions, pushing for a heavier use of synths and samplers. Ferrara came from an electronic music background, was into the drum'n'bass scene, and used gear that was at the time completely unfamiliar to the rest of the group.

The results of this phase ended up on Cuckoo Boohoo (2004), considered by many to be the band's true debut. The quintet tightened up their song structures, becoming more focused and effective, and the result was an even more promising new beginning.

"Peter Pan Syndrome" (chosen to become the band's first music video), "Panic Attack # 1", "Hengie: Queen Of The Border Line" were the big surprises, the tracks that started to stir up buzz and interest around the band.

Light-touch, melancholy piano pieces ("Elephant Man", "Three Withered Roses") alternate with more electric, lively moments ("Modern Lucky Man"), blending intimacy with indie-rock. The main ingredients of ...A Toys Orchestra's approach to songwriting came into sharper focus here. Cuckoo Boohoo marked a notable step forward in the Orchestra's development, as they began building a following of their own — and it was only the beginning...

During that period Enzo began leaning more and more heavily on piano for composing, at the expense of guitar. This shift in perspective produced, in 2007, what many consider ...A Toys Orchestra's definitive album: Technicolor Dreams, born out of a period of real creative inspiration. For the production the band brought in Dustin O'Halloran of Devics, so as to have an artist on hand who could offer advice and new direction. The line-up also underwent a significant change: Fabrizio Verte left the band, replaced by Andrea Perillo, who, despite not having been a drummer until then, learned the songs within a few weeks and immediately began making a meaningful contribution.

Technicolor Dreams also got a European release through Cargo, and the band played numerous dates abroad to promote it: a formative experience that put them back in the game, as they found themselves playing to new audiences who knew nothing about them. The new songs were shaped in a more distinctly electronic mould than before, proving that the group kept evolving creatively, even while having already carved out a clear stylistic identity of their own.

Melancholy pervades much of the new material: the many brilliant ballads that set the record's tone paint poignant, epic scenes, among them standouts "Powder On The Words" (which also got a video), "Letter To Myself" and opener "Invisible". Other absolute highlights are the propulsive synth-wave of "Cornice Dance" and the delightful noir vignette "Mrs Macabrette", both of which would soon become mainstays of their live shows and firm fan favourites. Other shades of colour emerge in the electroshock of "Ease Off The Bit", the guitar bursts of "Amnesy International", the piano flourishes of "Santa Barbara" and "Danish Cookie Blue Box", and the acoustic touches of "Be 4 Walk Away". Closer "Panic Attack # 3" shuts this book of dreams, marking the end of the band's childhood and their passage into adulthood.

On 23 November 2007 the P.I.M.I. (Premio Italiano Musica Indipendente) and Siae named Technicolor Dreams "Album of the Year": a true consecration by the Italian critics. Three tracks from the album were chosen for the soundtrack of Jess Manafort's film "The Beautiful Ordinary", released in American theatres in September 2007.

That was just the first of a long series of contributions ...A Toys Orchestra would make to Italian and foreign films: two of their tracks were featured in the hugely popular TV series "I liceali", while "Invisible" ended up on the soundtrack of Edoardo Leo's directorial debut, "18 anni dopo". But the real breakthrough, the one that would finally make the band widely known, came when "Powder On The Words" was included in Massimo Venier's film "Un giorno in più", released in late 2011.

But back to 2007, when, riding the success of Technicolor Dreams, Manuel Agnelli recruited ...A Toys Orchestra for the Il paese è reale project, having them contribute the previously unreleased track "What You Said" to the related compilation: yet another acknowledgment of a virtuous trajectory that was establishing the group as one of the most significant names on the Italian alternative scene.

In 2009 the band decided to relocate to Bologna, looking for a less provincial setting, though their ties to their hometown would always remain strong.

Their passage into adulthood was sealed by the violent kiss immortalised on the cover of Midnight Talks, which saw the departure of Fausto and a special guest appearance by Enrico Gabrielli, who handled the orchestral arrangements. Midnight Talks, released in April 2010, was the band's first album to be genuinely anticipated by critics and fans alike, and it was met with a decidedly positive reception. The band chose to return to a slightly broader palette, once again giving guitars plenty of room.

Memorable melodies ("Sunny Days", "The Day Of The Bluff", "Plastic Romance Pt. 2", "Pills On My Bill", "Look In Your Eyes", "Summer"), irresistible rhythms ("Red Alert"), wholesome alt-rock ("Mystical Mistake", "Frankie Pyroman"), Arcade Fire-like dizzying heights ("Plastic Romance") and nods to Italy's popular music tradition ("Celentano") mark yet another step forward for the Campania-based band. The fiery "Backbone Blues" was chosen for the obligatory music video, and Beatrice Antolini joined the band for the tour, alongside Paolo Iocca (Franklin Delano, Blakeeee, Boxeur The Coeur). Thanks to Midnight Talks, ...A Toys Orchestra were once again honoured by the P.I.M.I., this time as "Best Band" of the year, and placed among the finalists in the "Best Album" and "Best Tour" categories.

On 24 May 2011 the EP Rita Lin Songs was made available as a free download (and released in physical form a few days later), a gift to fans containing six tracks, including the Italian-language version of "Celentano" and a cover of the famous Duran Duran hit "The Chaffeur", a surprising choice that would prove to be spot on.

Rounding out the tracklist were a new version of "Plastic Romance", the previously unreleased acoustic tracks "Day By Day" and "Fisherman's Psalm", plus the masterpiece "Noir Dance", which unwittingly foreshadowed the next album.

It was a period of great productivity: the material written for Midnight Talks was so plentiful it was enough to take on several different directions and fill more than one record.

The initial idea was to make a new EP, but once back in the studio the band realised they had a sizeable batch of good songs on their hands, and a full album came together instead — a natural continuation of its predecessor, so much so that it partly borrowed its title.

Midnight (R)Evolution, released in late 2011, proved to be a more instinctive, angrier record, one capable of forcefully voicing the civic conscience of musicians-as-citizens eager to put across meaningful messages in their own way.

The album opens with the convincing title track, which is the most Arcade Fire-sounding thing Toys have ever recorded. It's just the first piece of an overwhelming work that, as usual, manages to enchant with the infinite sweetness of "Noir Dance" and "You Can't Stop Me Now", both equipped with superb codas, but is also capable of landing some resounding blows, as happens with "Nightmare City". The perfectly rounded "Late September", the sparkling arrangements of "Lotus", the mournful notes of "Mutineer Blues", the pop surges of "Welcome To Babylon" enrich what stands as the album of newfound maturity for Moretto and co. The CD comes with an interesting DVD, containing the documentary "Midnight Stories", which traces the band's entire journey through exclusive footage and interviews with band members and their main collaborators.

In 2012 comes the time for the first retrospective, An Introduction To…, which collects some of the best moments from the first part of the band's artistic journey.

…A Toys Orchestra have by now become one of the most beloved acts among the Italian indie crowd, and over time Enzo Moretto has also established himself as a sought-after sessionman, contributing significantly as a guitarist to “The Testament“, the solo debut of Appino of Zen Circus, released in March 2013, with which he also toured to promote the record.

At this point the quartet decides it's time to mix up the ingredients a bit and, once the long tour for the two Midnight albums is over, moves to Berlin to immerse itself in a different atmosphere. With Jeremy Glover contributing on production, Butterfly Effect hits stores in mid-October, also featuring multi-instrumentalist Julian Barrett. The album shows mature, evolved songwriting, a work leaning towards an enjoyable alternative pop, in which electronics play anything but a secondary role, and epic scope is a key goal. The quartet's usual ingredients, but blended slightly differently than in the past. There's plenty of play with the 80s, the plasticky, fun side heard in "Always I'm Wrong" and "Mirrorball", and the glorious choruses of "Come On Get Out" and "Take My Place". The Arcade Fire root remains strong, most evident in some passages of "Fall To Restart" and "Wake Me Up", whose titles even echo some of Win Butler and co.'s hits ("Ready To Start" and "Wake Up").

But the album's true masterpieces, the ones for which this record will be remembered over time, take the shape of two exquisite ballads. One is the well-rounded "Quiver", the other is the icy "My Heroes Are All Dead", an admirable crossbreed of minimal-wave and indie-pop, complete with a final crescendo. This is where Butterfly Effect earns decisive points, establishing itself as one of the most successful Italian records of 2014.

In April 2016, at the end of the Butterfly Effect tour, …A Toys Orchestra are chosen as the backing band for Nada's concerts in support of L'amore devi seguirlo, over seventy dates across the country, plus major TV and radio appearances.

For the next record we'll have to wait a full four years, until 27 April 2018, when the eleven new dark ballads making up Lub Dub are released. After the 80s synth-pop digressions that characterized the previous project, the band returns to a more properly rock-oriented language: whether starting from a piano ("Candies And Flowers"), a synth ("More Than I Need", "My Body Is A Lie") or an acoustic guitar ("Take It Easy", "Believe"), the new compositions almost always set off dark and anguished, gradually welcoming in the other instruments through successive layers, enriched by emotional ripples. Not that the necessary electric drive is missing, to be clear, but the quintet tends to keep a lower profile than usual, distancing itself from that Arcade Fire-branded grandeur (particularly present on the two "Midnight" albums) that had in some way become a recognizable trademark. There's meticulous work going on beneath the surface that won't escape the most attentive ears; the guitars in particular stand out, often deliberately left in the background to reward the curiosity of the less distracted listener—six strings we hope to hear hotter and more upfront in the live setting.

After all, introspection and fine detail work are territories where the band has shown its best in the past, but while Lub Dub has no intention of being combative, it's certainly not lacking in jolts, see the lively "Tiger Claw" or the well-rounded "Dance Lady Dance", both of which lend dynamism to the tracklist. "Like A Matisse" and "Someone Like You", on the other hand, are left in an almost embryonic, minimalist state, more like sketches tasked with introducing the album's two key tracks: the enveloping "Show Me Your Face", a gorgeous song worth an entire career, and the closing title track, delivered as a duet by Enzo (who writes everything: music and lyrics) and Ilaria D'Angelis. Alongside them are their lifelong friends and bandmates, Raffaele Benevento and Andrea Perillo, together with the returning multi-instrumentalist Julian Barrett, all perfectly in sync, unerring in creating little technicolor dreams, some of which are destined to become classics in the band's repertoire. Doses of healthy melancholy that first plunge you into inner darkness and then help you find the strength to react, through a well-calibrated mix of sweetness and energy. The new "Powder On The Words" has arrived.

The "Midnight" saga gains a new chapter in 2024, Midnight Again: an album that, as much as or even more than its predecessor, shakes things up compared to the band's previous output and manages to surprise on several occasions, both in terms of sound (mostly moving away from the "wave matrix" that had characterized much of the pre-Lub Dub work) and in the arrangements, extremely polished and refined, a sign of marked stylistic growth.

Midnight Again is a varied, bewitching album that guides the listener through the mysterious darkness of night, making them drift beneath a sky that is sometimes leaden and heavy with rain (the visionary "Halleluja" or the heart-wrenching "Miss U"), and at other times lit up by colourful fireworks (the propulsive "Life Starts Tomorrow", the carefree "Goodbye Day" and the triumphant "OCD Lullaby", with their irresistible horns, skillfully woven into the different contexts — and in this regard special mention goes to the crooked insert in "Goodbye Day", where good old Stanley Brinks almost seems to peek through with his saxophone). At times the night of Midnight Again is plunged into the heart of the fiercest storm (the powerful "Our Souls", with its murky atmospheres somewhere between Dave Gahan and Mark Lanegan), at other times it's clear and quilted with sparkling stars (the surprising "Take Me Home", which moves from balladic elegy into the unexpected visionary quality of a western film score, passing through dazzling gospel choirs, and the kaleidoscopic "Midnight Gospel", where, as the title suggests, the choral device becomes a leitmotif, rising skyward and lighting it up with an almost mystical glow), or else it's lit by romantic moonlight (above all the duet between Enzo and Ilaria D'Angelis on the splendid "Whatever We Are", a gorgeous rock ballad in which the instrumental backdrop gracefully frames the two voices, the absolute stars of the scene, trading off and chasing each other before merging again and again in a warm embrace).

Thanks to the skillful orchestration of piano and strings, the night of Midnight Again is pervaded by a subtle melancholic streak ("Hero", "Miss U", "Sometimes I Wonder", "Out Of Control"). At times a certain sense of unease can also be felt (particularly tangible in "Goodbye Day", where Ilaria's theremin sends swirling through the air the same diaphanous ghosts that already populated, back in 2004, the atmospheres of "Peter Pan Syndrome", one of the band's best-loved singles).

Contributions by Alessandra Trirè ("Midnight Again")

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