One of the most talked about acts at 2010’s South By South West festival, Toy Horses have built up an impressive word of mouth following on both sides of the Atlantic. Toy Horses’ often delightful 60s-inspired indie pop debut was recorded in Nashville in just 10 days with ex-Wilco drummer Ken Coomer. The band has received airtime on BBC Radio 1, 6 Music and XFM, and the hotly tipped Welsh duo could prove to be one of the more unlikely crossover successes of 2011.

Despite an unconventional line-up, Toy Horses consist of stepfather-stepson duo Adam D Franklin and Tom Williams, their eponymous debut contains few surprises. There is little to dislike among the ten 60s inspired tracks on offer, but Toy Horses wear their influences a little too obviously on their sleeves. Each Toy Horses tracks is an expertly crafted indie pop song, and it is easy to see why record execs have signed them up to write for others, but it is impossible to escape the impression that it has all been done before.

Among the pleasantly distracting Lennon and McCartney-eque melodies (sometimes a little too close to Macca for comfort), there is the odd gem. Seventh track Love at an Arm’s Length is by far the album’s standout, providing a strong emotional core to the sometimes lightweight fare on offer.

Toy Horses’ defiantly retro sound creates an album that sounds as if the last ten years of music, perhaps the last 40 years, never happened. For those that think this could be a good thing, this is an album well worth investigating; for the rest, there is little to grab the attention of the casual listener.