The Island of Misfit Toys

Hailing from Chicago, the Island of Misfit Toys crafts an expansive strain of indie rock that resists tidy classification yet comes closest to the label chamber punk-pop. With a roster that edges toward double digits, the ensemble layers melodic percussion, brass, violin, banjo, accordion, and additional textures onto standard rock instrumentation, all in service of Anthony Sanders’s theatrical compositions that veer into rap, experimental rock, acoustic balladry, and other territories. The band’s first album, Bear Hair, arrived in 2011 and included Julia Bard, Kamila Glowacki, Mark Jaeschke, Evan Loritsch, Lui Macatual, John Mondragon, Danny Radovanovic, and Sanders. Two years afterward the EP Furiouser & Furiouser surfaced, now absent Glowacki and Mondragon yet joined by Audrey Sanders, Ashlee Stewack, and bassist Gooey Fame, who departed shortly thereafter. The addition of Mike Nardone restored the group to nine members and paved the way for the 2015 sophomore full-length I Made You Something.