Glyn Bailey's "Toys from Balsa" is everything but mainstream, so-called alternative rock. Whether the "balsa" in the title refers to a Gnome email client server or, more likely, to soft hardwood, the songs here would fit well in the rotation of any college radio station worth its Kenneth frequency.

The music on this CD reflects a potpourri of musical influences such as David Bowie, David Byrne, Elvis Costello, Bob Dylan, and Dire Straits, among others. The spirit of Bowie at his best is strongest on songs like "Parts of Me", "He Says She Says", and "Don't Just Sit There. With chainsaw guitar and lyrics such as, "Compared to you, the devil seems shy," the latter is particularly demonstrative of one of Bailey's strengths, his quirky, biting reflections on life.

Yet, Bailey is actually at his morbid best in folk-rock ballads, where the influences from Byrne, Dylan, and the Straits are more readily apparent. He craftily depicts the angst of looking for shelter in a fall out world of family and personal break ups, and breakdowns. Of this type of song, "East & West" is arguably the highlight: "Daddy's going east, mummy's going west. How am I to choose, which one I love the best?"