Fort Worth, TX, alt-rockers the Toadies — the guys behind the 1994 grunge hit “Possum Kingdom” — are preparing for the August 10 release of Feeler, their second album since reuniting in 2006. SPIN.com has scored the first leak from the set, “City of Hate,” and if it sounds like vintage Toadies there’s good reason. Download the song below.
Following years of touring behind their breakout debut Rubberneck, the Toadies returned to the studio in 1997 and recorded 14 songs for Feeler. But Interscope Records rejected its release and sent the band back to the studio. The Toadies eventually wrote and recorded a new batch of songs for their 2001 sophomore album Hell Below / Stars Above, while Feeler sat in the vaults.
Until now. The Toadies re-recorded the original Feeler tracks (“We’ve never been able to track the masters down from Interscope,” the band’s manager tells SPIN) with producer Rob Schnapf (Beck, Elliott Smith), the same guy behind the boards on Rubberneck. The result is classic Toadies: buzzsaw guitars, charging drums, and tight pop songwriting, all featured on “City of Hate.”
The song kicks off with a distorted backwater riff and chugging bass, then drops into a hard pop-rock groove as frontman Vaden Todd Lewis bemoans a nameless city with scorching temps and nosy residents. “Are you afraid of the city you live in? / Are you afraid of who’s watching? Would you trade your neighbors and friends for some shade? That’s the city we live in.”
So, dear Interscope, what exactly didn’t you see in Feeler? Please, do tell.
Download “City of Hate,” then tell us what you think in the comment section. Also, for more on Feeler, watch the trailer below.
LISTEN: Toadies, “City of Hate” (DOWNLOAD MP3)
WATCH: Toadies, Feeler trailer
https://www.youtube.com/embed/H367gFYHrew Toadies Tour Dates:
7/15, Tyler, TX (The Venue at the Down Under)
7/17, Houston, TX (House of Blues)
7/21, El Paso, TX (Club 101)
7/22, Tucson, AZ (Club Congress)
7/23, Santa Ana, CA (Galaxy Theater)
7/24, West Hollywood, CA (The Troubadour)
7/25, San Francisco, CA (Bottom Of The Hill)
7/27, Portland, OR (Berbati’s Pan)
7/28, Seattle, WA (The Showbox)
7/31, Englewood, CO (Gothic Theatre)
?8/1, Amarillo, TX (Midnight Rodeo)
8/7, Dallas, TX (Palladium Ballroom)
8/27, New Braunfels, TX (Acoustic Kickoff Show)
8/28, New Braunfels, TX (Dia De Los Toadies III)
