Grapthar's Song of the Day: toe - 'The World According To"

from the first time I heard them, and though I haven't listened to them in a while, when I revisited them today, I instantly remembered why. I believe they were in a group of bands that I discovered when my friend Mike gave me a copy of his music hard drive, and definitely one that stood out to me. The group was formed in 2000 in Tokyo, Japan by Kashikura Takashi (drums), Mino Takaaki (guitar), Yamane Satoshi (bass guitar), and Yamazaki Hirokazu (guitar) (Source - Wikipedia: toe), all of whom have remained in the group since its inception. I didn't know this at the time, but the group released albums in the US through Topshelf Records, who also released albums from my friends band, Caravels. toe was very much a post-rock/math-rock band from the start, with that distinctly Japanese math-rock style, though they have expanded their sound quite a bit. Their 2015 album, Hear You is my favorite from the group. The band incorporates more acoustic, softer textures, hip-hop beats and themes, and some really solid songwriting, making it stand apart from their other material, yet still feel like toe.