Meet Toy Mountains, who may very well become your new favourite band. We spoke to Callum McClune about their new single ‘I Could Care Less’, how the Scottish four-piece formed and what the future holds for them. Get psyched!
Hi guys! Firstly, tell us about how the band started. How, when and where did you form?
Hey there, thanks very much for having us! Well, in 2014 we were all playing in different bands on the Scottish music scene. Grant and I have been friends since high school and we’d been meeting up to record some heavier songs as a side project. Once we decided we thought what we were writing was good enough to play live and we wanted to take it more seriously, I contacted Greg – who I’d been in a band with whilst at uni – to get him involved. Once we had a bunch of songs we thought we could work with, Grant invited his friend Matt to come and drum for us in a rehearsal studio. From the get-go there was a clear chemistry between us and we were all really passionate and excited about trying something different to what we were doing at the time. We all left our respective bands to commit everything to Toy Mountains since then.
You’ve just released your new single, ‘I Could Care Less’. How’s it been going down?
It’s been great actually, all of the feedback we’ve had so far has been positive. The press we’ve had has been very kind, and we’ve received a lot of support from the bigger independent blogs and zines. If you’d told us at the time of recording that the single would go on to be played on Daniel P. Carter’s Radio 1 Rock Show, added to the Kerrang! Radio Fresh Blood playlist etc, we probably wouldn’t have believed you, haha!
Would you say it’s a good example of your sound as a band in general? How would you describe your sound?
I think it’s probably the closest tune that we have to the middle ground of Toy Mountains. Our set certainly contains songs that are heavier and more intense, but we also have songs that are more laid back. I think ‘I Could Care Less’ showcases elements of both. More generally I would say we’re a sum of all the guitar music that we’re passionate about. It has the pop sensibilities of alternative rock and the ferocity of post-hardcore in a progressive format. We also use a lot of delays and reverbs which adds a post-rock/shoegaze influence with a few odd time signatures thrown in for good measure.
Do you have any plans to release an EP or album or is it too early to say?
We have plans to see Lewis (Johns) again in the Spring, but we can’t say too much more about that.
Who or what are your influences as a band?
On a broader scale we all love bands like Glassjaw, At The Drive-In, Reuben, Blakfish and Deftones but most recently we’ve been listening to a lot of the new-wave emo bands like Touche Amore, Pianos Become The Teeth, La Dispute etc. Basically anything affiliated with No Sleep and Run For Cover.
What have been some of your favourite experiences as a band so far?
Our show at Tut’s last Friday for the launch of ‘I Could Care Less’ was pretty special. Such a great lineup that night, and to have it sell out was a real milestone for us. Working with Lewis Johns on the single at The Ranch Production House in Southampton was an amazing experience too. He really understood what we were going for and works with so many bands that we’re huge fans of, like Rolo Tomassi and Palm Reader. Although I’d be inclined to say every show we play is a learning curve, it was amazing to play shows down South for the first time last year too. We met loads of amazing people and so many talented bands. It reminds you how much of a community vibe there is in the DIY touring network.
Do you have any plans to tour soon?
Yeah, we’ve set a target for ourselves of getting round the UK at least twice this year and there’s a possibility we might play a few shows in mainland Europe for the first time in autumn as well, which is very exciting for us!
What have you got coming up in 2016?
We’re currently sitting on another video due for release in February, but other than that we’d just like to play as often as we can in as many new places as possible.
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