One of the only things I look forward to every February is the RPM Challenge submission from Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys. With the RPM Challenge, artists write, record, and produce an album during the month of February. The Army of Toys' releases are always interesting, and that is no exception with this years', BETWEEN BREATHS. One reason the songs on BETWEEN BREATHS so interesting is how... normal they are. Instead of their normal mixture of punk, folk, cabaret, indie rock, metal, etc., the album opens with "BED AND BREAKFAST," which is a piano led singer-songwriter song about opening a bed and breakfast. Of course, it can't be completely straightforward as Sickert opens by stating that they are "the bellhop from Hell." But it's still along the lines of a Ben Folds Five song, if Ben Folds Five wrote songs about a damned bed and breakfast. The singer-songwriter piano songs continue with the very well timed "WALLY WONKA." The album takes another unexpected turn with "LAUNDROMAT" and "PUSSSY CATT," which are bizarro modern disco songs. If the album started with a demonic Ben Folds Five, these songs are a demonic Dee-Lite. Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys are a band that has always reveled in the strange and experimental, and their RPM Challenge releases allow them to completely cut loose.
You can listen to "BED AND BREAKFAST" below. BETWEEN BREATHS is available now via Bandcamp for the "name your price" option. If you do choose free, be sure to give Walter Sickert & The Army of Broken Toys a follow on Facebook and Instagram.
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