‘Isn’t That Something’, the first track on ‘Remember The Laughter’ , first appeared on former My Chemical Romance guitarist Ray Toro’s Soundcloud page as long ago as 2013. So it’s fairly safe to assume that his subsequent inactivity was due in no small part to the birth of his first child just weeks after the MCR split. The lively and upbeat song hinted at a move towards the desert-pop-rock of acts like The Killers, and the remainder of the album continues in a similar vein.
Loosely based around the concept of a man finding a memory box in his childhood home, ‘Remember The Laughter’ also looks to the past musically. The John Lennon-ish ‘Walking In Circles’ – ‘Love is a mystery, finally found the key’ – gives way to further Beatles influence on ‘We Save’, which is ‘Eleanor Rigby’ injected with a wonderful dose of swagger. Meanwhile, the piano-driven ‘Take The World’, another rousing highlight, features a synthesised scale eerily similar to the one on The Who’s ‘Baba O’Riley’.
Traces of the vivid, optimistic sound that characterised the later MCR work can be heard in spirit on ‘The Great Beyond’, which also features a tastefully understated guitar solo. Toro thankfully steers clear of any great amount of axemanship and instead displays a sharp ability as a songwriter and vocalist. While perhaps not technically impressive, he wisely keeps his heartfelt singing style simple and solid.
‘Hope For The World’ is regrettably cringe-worthy and the strange, pointless interludes are an annoyance, but Toro’s debut is on the whole a worthy collection. The man once described as ‘the brains of My Chemical Romance’ has shown, as his former bandmates have in their respective projects, that there is most certainly life after death.
The inclusion of his wife and son in the album’s credits is an indication of the value placed upon family by Ray Toro. Whether he will now take another lengthy break from music to focus on those closest to him remains to be seen, but with ‘Remember The Laughter’ he has left his talent in no doubt.
3.5/5
‘Remember The Laughter’ by Ray Toro is released on November 18th.
Ray Toro links: Website|Instagram|Twitter|Soundcloud
Words by Peter Stewart (@PeteStew_)
