The Toadies are back, and they brought the right person with them. The Charmer, the band's first full-length studio album in nearly a decade, also stands as one of the final records engineered by the legendary Steve Albini before his passing in 2024, a fitting and poignant chapter in the career of a man whose fingerprints are all over the history of alternative rock. Albini's influence is felt throughout. The record is raw, direct, and guitar-driven in exactly the way that made the Toadies matter in the first place, a sound that places them firmly back in the alternative rock pantheon where they made their name while feeling completely at home alongside the dozens of younger bands they helped inspire along the way. This is not a nostalgia exercise. It is a band reclaiming their place with confidence and a collection of songs that earns every bit of it. A welcome return and a meaningful document, The Charmer is the Toadies at their most focused and most themselves.
