Toad the Wet Sprocket: Liars Everywhere

February 20, 2023

The album Pale, by Toad the Wet Sprocket, was a big album for me in my late teens. I think I came across it in the last year or so of high school, and it’s an album that definitely followed me to college.

More than that, it was an album that I had on literal repeat, during my graduate school years. When I was writing poems, I’d often just loop this album non-stop (CD in the PC computer days).

Odd tidbit? The other album I listened to incessantly while writing poems: Pony Express Record by Shudder to Think.

Kind of an odd pairing, I guess. But hey, I’m a complex guy like that.

Suffice it to say, I’ve listened to this album a lot. And after listening to some of Glen Phillips’ solo work recently, I’ve gone back to these older Toad albums that I loved so very much. And still do.

In particular, Liars Everywhere is one that’s been in my head a lot lately.

There’s a slow melancholy to my favorite songs by this band. And I guess that is a natural thing to lean towards, especially in your teenage years. Even now, decades later, the look of the album – the color, the fonts – evoke a quiet, familiar sadness.

A fun bit of YouTube digging: came across this footage of the band, back when they were also much, much younger. Even though it’s difficult to hear, I’m enamored with the harmonies on this song.