The avant garde post punk of The Honey Toads and "Plastic Smiles"

The track Plastic Smiles by The Honey Toads (from Petaluma, California) is driving dense post punk with a strong proto punk vibe. In spots it is cagey, beautiful, explosive and feels oh so different. It is the kind of sound that I would want to hear from that unknown band in some warehouse show or small club. The sound is abnormal in the best sense.

Nick Cafiero's vocals command your attention right away. He veers into early punk sounds. I actually thought a bit (just a bit) of Jello Biafra and I appreciate Nick's uniqueness not to mention that he jams on an electric ukulele. Joe DeMars on bass jams with the punk drive of a Flea but the elegant active choices of a Colin Greenwood. The pearly charged guitar work by Jack Hogan finds all the puzzle pieces and Dominic Bergamini drums is so solid and erupts when he needs to. Dynamically rich and wrought out The Honey Toads with their almost feral punk sound reminds me of another Cali avant garde punk outfit called Wide Streets who are sadly no more. Great stuff.
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Robb Donker