They’ve gotten older — and they haven’t gotten any cooler.
Toad the Wet Sprocket, the 90s folk rockers famous for songs like “All I Want” and “Walk on the Ocean,” have reunited and will bring their oversharing and emotional honesty to Brooklyn Bowl on July 31.
And don’t worry — the cult favorites are still inspiring longtime fans to flip open their journals and get sentimental.
“People connected with us because our music was so willing to overshare,” said Glen Phillips, the band’s vocalist.
Even in their heyday, the rockers never scored cool points, Phillips said.
“During the 90s, we were the ugly stepchildren with all these cool bands like Green Day and U2,” he said. “We were softy, overly emotional geeks, when most rock bands were so good at being cool.”
After taking 12 years off to pursue their own paths in the music industry, Toad the Wet Sprocket has come back together to find that they’re all still on the same page — a markedly uncool page.
But the band still believes in giving the audience music that’s deeply personal.
“We’re the same people, but we have more questions now,“ said Phillips. “We wonder when we can retire, how the environment is affecting our kids, etcetera. We feel like we’ve grown up with our audience.”
Toad the Wet Sprocket recently released “All You Want,” a remake of some of their greatest hits.
It’s an album that feels familiar while still fresh — it is, after all, a collection of popular Toad the Wet Sprocket songs covered by Toad the Wet Sprocket.
Since then, Phillips and the rest of the band have been hard at work making an album of new songs for release — and judging by the vocalist’s attitude, it’s not going to disappoint their overly earnest fans.
“If you look deep enough into anything, anything, there is beauty,” Phillips said.
Toad the Wet Sprocket at Brooklyn Bowl [61 Wythe Ave., between North 11 and North 12 Streets in Williamsburg. (718) 963–3369, brooklynbowl.com] July 31, 6 pm. $20.
