Review: Toby Driver – Raven, I Know That You Can Give Me Anything

Style: Art Rock, Post-rock (Clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Soen, David Gilmour / Quieter Pink Floyd, Ulver, Kayo Dot
Country: Connecticut, United States
Release date: 20 September 2024

Well, here we are again: another day, another Toby Driver project. Given that much of his output sits considerably far outside of my comfort zone, I would have never seen myself as the Subway’s main Toby Driver music cover-er, yet I stand, egg on my face, having just reviewed the lovely (if not slightly terrifying) Oak Lace Apparition by Driver’s Alora Crucible project along with a Lost in Time for Kayo Dot‘s Hubardo, an album I have fully come to terms with after a long and complicated relationship with it. At this point, it’s only fitting that I also discuss his latest solo effort: Raven, I Know That You Can Give Me Anything. How does it stand against the rest of his storied career, and most importantly, can the raven give us things too?¹

Ironically enough, through its straightforward and stripped-back compositions, Toby seems to be stepping way outside of his comfort zone, as Raven is a stark departure from most of Toby Driver’s projects: one of the defining facets of Driver’s music is a heavy reliance on uncharacteristic and otherworldly chord choices. Even the quieter, more serene moments of earlier work like Hubardo’s “The Second Operation: Lunar Water” incorporate an element of unease through frightening vocal patterns and strange tunings. Raven, on the other hand, has more in common with mid-2010s solo output Madonnawhore and They Are the Shield, manifesting as a lush, laid-back, and serene art rock piece. Delivering as a base subtle guitars sitting on a bed of synth atmospherics, gorgeous and raw vocals that center the music, and drums that gently push the listener along, Raven also features the occasional flute (“Someday There’ll Be an Avalanche”), slow yet hefty atmospheric outings (“Antinous in the Nile”), and at times reaches a powerful climax through voice and guitar interplay (“Raven, I Know That You Can Give Me Anything”). Many songs even feature gorgeous vocals by Ana Cristina Pérez Ochoa that interplay with Driver’s to excellent effect along with backing vocals peppered throughout by Nick Hudson.

The lack of avant-garde instrumentation and progressive songwriting sets precedent for a reliance on simpler soundscapes and increased focus on vocal performance and lyricism; as a result, Raven is undeniably a mood piece, the lush-but-restrained instrumental backdrop giving Driver plenty of room to spill his soul out through lyricism. In typical Toby Driver fashion, the lyrics are shrouded in a touch of surrealist imagery juxtaposed with very real and visceral lines: take “Raven, I Know That You Can Give Me Anything,” which describes a being that Driver relies on in his darkest moments: “Raven by day and after darkness a doe in the churchyard / She blesses whomever will look at her footprints and wonder / Where she might go and what she might know / And why she is high / and I am low?” or “Transdimensional Alluvium” in which Driver describes his complicated relationship with his hometown: “A sodden step to Erebus / A speculum / Vaginal corridors from the banks of Mnemosyne / Darkened by decades of apathy / In a town that cannot dream.“ Toby’s struggles and triumphs are transferred from lyrics to vocals expertly: “Shankha” spends virtually all of its runtime ruminating on mournful vocal melodies; the title track soars above the clouds in its most climactic moments; “Antinous in the Nile” mourns the loss of young love through Toby’s crying out “Too soon, too soon, too soon;” and closer “Talismans to Keep Me” shows some of Driver’s most delicate singing overtop a menacing and seedy guitar tone.

If there’s one thing that could augment Raven’s experience, it would be to further flesh out the elements that are briefly introduced throughout the album: for example, “Someday There’ll Be an Avalanche” features a glorious flute section that is unfortunately never seen again, a problem compounded by a couple of weaker tracks in the middle stretch that could benefit from a little extra decoration in their composition. Further implementation of these elements would cement the already strong sense of cohesion that Toby has established on Raven even more intensely; I wouldn’t mind an extension of the album by a couple minutes if it meant a tasteful incorporation of these ideas throughout the rest of the runtime.

Nevertheless, what we received from Toby Driver is nothing short of solid, and Raven, I Know That You Can Give Me Anything makes for a strong contender as my new favorite piece of his. Within a limited sonic palette, Toby Driver creates gorgeous soundscapes that are centered by his raw and evocative vocal performance, introducing just enough variation and melodies of interest to keep the experience engaging. Given his light and folky experimentation earlier this year with Alora Crucible, his previous experiments with quieter music on Madonnawhore and They Are the Shield, and now on Raven, Toby seems to be eschewing the intense and chaotic expression found in Kayo Dot, maudlin of the Well, and earlier solo projects for something softer, more serene, and more accessible, and I couldn’t be happier about it. While I always appreciate his avant-garde experimentation, Raven shows with certainty that Toby Driver has no problem operating within the realms of more straightforward compositions.

Recommended Tracks: Ticking Timebomb, Raven, I Know That You Can Give Me Anything, Talismans to Keep Me, Shankha
You may also like: Fjieri, Kayo Dot, Good NightOwl, i Häxa
Final verdict: 7.5/10

Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Official Website | Facebook | Instagram | Metal-Archives

Label: Ice Level Music – Bandcamp | Facebook

Toby Driver is:
– Toby Driver (vocals, guitars, bass)
– Ana Cristina Pérez Ochoa (keyboards, vocals)
– Samuel Gutterman (drums)
– Nick Hudson (backing vocals)

1. Quick story time: I’ve always wanted to befriend a corvid (ravens, crows, any really) because they are known for leaving gifts in exchange for food. Unfortunately, I’ve never had one hang out regularly enough to befriend, though I have learned that dog food is particularly high in nutritional content that is important for crows. ↩︎