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| 1. Plane Crash |
| 2. Push The Hand |
| 3. Little Sin |
| 4. Motivational |
| 5. Heel |
| 6. You'll Come Down |
| 7. Pressed Against The Sky |
| 8. What We Have We Steal |
| 9. Jigsaw Girl |
| 10. Sweetness |
| 11. Hell Below/Stars Above |
| 12. Dollskin |
Seven years later, the band released their Rubberneck follow-up, Hell Below/Stars Above, and critics are still scratching their heads. The album offers highly charged, raw-throated vocals and a wall of aggressive rock built on solid bricks of distortion ("Sweetness," "Plane Crash," "Push the Hand," "Heel"), but it still lacks the intricacy and hooks of, say, a Foo Fighters album. Sure, there are some slower songs ("Pressed Against the Sky") that give front man Todd Lewis a break from the testosterone rants, but overall Hell Below feels like one long song of Warped Tour-era rock that too easily blends into itself. --Jennifer Maerz
"Plane Crash," the album's opener starts with a bang, an abusive punk rock riff coupled with a holler/scream reminiscent of Judas Priest's Rob Halford moonlighting as an alt-rocker. Intensity remains at just under too much, continuing with the Toadies signature sound through the next few tracks until the mid-tempo "You'll Come Down." Good, solid, rock that presents listeners with accessible yet intelligent melodies and lyrics.
Next up, we really see the Toads begin to shine: "Pressed Against the Sky" is one of the best songs that this reviewer has ever wrapped his mind around. A soft, building, not quite melancholy, not quite tender piece that reminds of "Tyler" from Rubberneck. This song really showcases the band's range from quiet, bluesy, almost Hawaiian guitar to ragy ballad. The album's closer features the Toad's rage-ballad as an encore: "Dollskin."
The title track took this reviewer some getting used to, given its 'in your face' beginning, mid tune mode shift, and gospel choir backup vocals. However, after a few spins, it won me over in the end.
The Toadies do what they do best on this album: Rock. There's a gentler texture at work here too though, not really seen on their previous efforts. This twelve song journey is not very long in real world time, so the high intensity won't tire out the listener before the end. Adding that the album closes on a melodic and almost sweet note, it'll have people reaching for the 'play' button on thei CD players to start the album over again.
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