Shiny Toy Guns emerged in California at the dawn of the 2000s, yet their sound blends polished synth-pop with electro-clash elements rooted in the 1980s. Jeremy Dawson on bass and keyboards joined forces with guitarist and vocalist Gregori Chad Petree in 2001 to launch the project; both musicians hailed from central Oklahoma. The roster reached completion in 2004 once Carah Faye Charnow stepped in as lead singer, taking the place of departing vocalist Ursula Vari, while drummer Mikey Martin completed the rhythm section.
After cultivating a regional audience across California, the band issued its first album, We Are Pilots, in early 2005. A revised edition appeared later that year with modest changes to the song sequence. Continued road work alongside online promotion expanded their reach, leading to a June 2006 deal with Universal Records. The same year brought the third and definitive version of We Are Pilots under major-label auspices. The release earned both strong sales and favorable notices, securing a Grammy nomination for Best Electronic/Dance Album in early 2008.
Carah Faye Charnow exited later that year, stating that the male members had dismissed her. Veteran singer Sisely Treasure, previously of Cooler Kids and a finalist on the debut season of the Pussycat Dolls’ reality series, took her spot. With the refreshed lineup, Shiny Toy Guns delivered Season of Poison in November 2008. A 2010 remix collection, Girls Le Disko: The Remixes, offered reworkings by Boys Noize and Gabriel & Dresden as an interim release. Sisely Treasure soon departed to focus on solo work, prompting the return of Carah Faye Charnow and the original configuration for III, the band’s most pop-oriented album, in 2012.
