Toad the Wet Sprocket illustrate that their ability to craft gentle, alternative folk-rock in the vein of R.E.M. continues to grow on Coil, a marginally darker record than the previous Dulcinea. Although the album is a little more somber, it is far from haunting, since Toad’s talent is for pleasant, lightly melodic acoustic pop, and Coil is no different from the rest of their catalog in that respect. In fact, it offers little new, but Toad are more reliable than predictable, since the record is quite well crafted. While it won’t win the group any new fans, it’s a solid effort that will certainly please fans. – Stephen Thomas Erlewine