The second album by Alex Toth (macron in his band name but
not in his actual name) is, ultimately, about recovery. He’s still unpicking
the collapse of a relationship – the same breakup that fuelled every aspect of
his melancholic debut – but here the emphasis is on moving forward. Right from
the opening track, ‘Habit Creature’, Tōth tells himself to “begin what
we call healing”. He mostly follows his
own advice, and the results are much more upbeat without losing his work’s
emotional core. Although, admittedly, by closing track ‘The Driving’ things
have slipped again (“My heart’s still broken / And I let the pain inside do the
driving”). Musically, like Pizzagirl, Tōth is a
multi-instrumentalist, who plays with elements of chamber pop, experimental
folk, and lo-fi indie. At points this record reminds me of Father
John Misty’s masterpiece I Love You, Honeybear, which topped this
list in 2015. But You and Me and
Everything covers more diverse ground. The upbeat songs, like the playful
‘Jesse’s House’, are loads of fun, as are the softer acoustic tunes, like
‘Turnaround (Cocaine Song)’. But it’s the ‘orchestral’ tracks that truly soar,
with the likes of ‘Butterflies’ and the outstanding ‘Daffadowndilly’ propelling
this album up to the top 5 of this list. At least a third of this record is
utterly stunning, and with a bit more consistency next time, Tōth could
deliver something very special indeed.