TOBY DRIVER
THEY ARE THE SHIELD

The mastermind artist behind maudlin of the Well and Kayo Dot, Toby Driver returns with his third solo album. Following a twelve year gap between debut “In the L..L..Library Loft” and sophomore album “Madonnawhore”, inspiration has flooded once again into a brilliant statement of quiet contemplation and repose in his third album, “They Are the Shield”.
Notes of singer-songwriter sensibilities bubble beneath a fog of synthesizers, expansive soundscapes, lush chamber strings, and sullen atmospheres, punctuated and driven with a soft percussive heartbeat.
Invoking dark autumn days, Driver showcases the masterful composition style perfected over the years in maudlin of the Well and Kayo Dot, extracting the metal from the former and the chaos from the latter to deliver a calm, soft, yet bitter wind essential to the season. For many long-time fans, this will feel like a proper return to form following the long absence of maudlin of the Well. Injected into that formula is a more modern twist which brings to mind such luminaries as Ólafur Arnalds, Ulver, and Kauan.
Grab a warm drink, watch the leaves fall before the dying sunset, and envelop yourself in the autumnal embrace of “They Are the Shield”.