Babes In Toyland is an American punk rock group formed in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1987 by Kat Bjelland. They lasted through the years 1987-2001 inspiring performers during the riot grrrl movement, although they weren't part of the movement themselves. In August 2014 they reunited and in Febuary 2015 they started playing shows starting and announced that they are writing new material.
The current members are Kat Bjelland who does vocals and lead guitar, Lori Barbero who does drums and vocals for a few songs, and the newest member Clara Slayer on bass guitar. Back when they first formed, the bass guitarist was Michelle Leon through the years 1987-1992, who was then replaced by Jessie Farmer who played with them through the years 1997-2001.
Discography:
Spanking Machine (1990)To Mother (EP) (1991)Fontanelle (1992)Painkillers only has four new tracks on it and the rest is live versions of all the songs from the Fontanelle album and a re-recording of "He's My Thing."
Painkillers (EP) (1993)Nemesisters (1995)Besides these, there are also seven compilation albums and some of them have songs that aren't from any of the previous mentioned albums.
I have to say my favorite album is Fontanelle, but I also really enjoy the To Mother EP as well. To be honest, there's nothing really
outstanding about there albums. They flow nice and when Lori Barbero is up on vocals it's a nice buffer to Kat Bjelland's emotional screaming. I have to say that's why I really like them. Bjelland's voice is really interesting/chaotic and it gets me really into the music. You could even possibly listen to the songs however you want, no album or album, there's really no difference in my opinion.
Songs I recommend listening to:
"He's My Thing" (This is the song that got me into them. Immediately got hooked.)
"Bruise Violet"
"Dust Cake Boy"
"S.F.W"
"Spit to See the Shine"
"Ariel"
"Bluebell"
"Blood"
