TOAD THE WET SPROCKET, “Hold On”
Time has been very kind to California alt.rockers Toad The Wet Sprocket, who first came to prominence in the early 90’s with breakthrough hit “All I Want” and others such as “Fall Down” and “Walk On The Ocean”. In fact, I saw them perform in Toronto in 1990 before all of those songs existed when they opened for Michael Penn. Their new album Starting Now is the first since 2013’s New Constellation and only their second album in 24 years. While they did break up for a while, they started performing together in 2004 off and on till the mid-2010’s. Three out of four original members remain, with Glen Phillips’ ageless voice still quite recognizable. Toad hasn’t really changed their style – artisan rockers with edge and emotion, similar to Lifehouse, Counting Crows, and Tonic – which is part of their success, picking up every time almost where they left off. “Hold On” is sturdy, perceptive rock encouraging the listener to “hold on to what matters” despite everything else going on in the world.
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