My Raining Stars Revisit a Lifetime of Memories on Toy Club
Few artists embody the timeless spirit of indie pop quite like My Raining Stars. For more than two decades, French songwriter Thierry Haliniak has quietly built one of the most consistent and heartfelt catalogues within the European dream pop scene, drawing inspiration from the jangling guitars, intimate songwriting and bittersweet melodies that defined the golden era of British indie music. With Toy Club, released on July 10, 2026, My Raining Stars return with an album that feels both deeply personal and beautifully reflective, celebrating friendship, memory and the enduring power of shared musical journeys.
The story of My Raining Stars stretches back far beyond the project's official beginnings in 1998. Before launching the project, Thierry Haliniak played in the early 1990s band Nothing To Be Done, sharing stages with influential groups such as The Boo Radleys, Adorable and Moose during one of the most exciting periods of the British indie scene. Those formative experiences left a lasting impression that continues to shape his songwriting today.
Throughout the years, My Raining Stars has become synonymous with a particular strand of dream pop and indie pop rooted in the legacy of the C86 movement, Sarah Records and Creation Records. Delicate jangling guitars, gentle shoegaze textures and elegant pop melodies have remained constant features of Haliniak's music, creating songs that feel nostalgic without ever becoming trapped in the past.
Following early home recordings on a modest four track cassette recorder, My Raining Stars gradually developed into a richly rewarding discography that includes From St Saviour To Quickwell, Obvious Reasons, 89 Memories, The Life We Planned and the critically praised Momentum. Toy Club feels like the natural continuation of that journey while simultaneously looking back to where it all began.
Released jointly by American label Shelflife Records and the French label Too Good To Be True, based in Brest, the album carries particular emotional significance through the reunion between Thierry Haliniak and longtime friend Didier Frahier, better known as E Grand. The two musicians first played together more than thirty five years ago in Nothing To Be Done, making this collaboration far more than a simple musical partnership. It represents the continuation of a friendship that has accompanied much of their creative lives.
The recording process perfectly reflects that shared history. Thierry Haliniak prepared the core of each song with demos containing the essential structures, including drums, bass, rhythm guitar and vocal melodies. Didier Frahier was then given complete creative freedom to expand those foundations through additional guitars, keyboards, arrangements, production and mixing. The result feels less like two musicians working separately than two longtime collaborators instinctively completing one another's musical ideas.
Returning contributor Casper Iskov once again provides bass and drums, while backing vocals from E Grand, Mathea and Thierry Haliniak enrich the album's warm and intimate atmosphere. Final mastering was entrusted to Ride vocalist and guitarist Mark Gardener at OX4Sound, bringing additional clarity while preserving the organic character that defines the record.
At its heart, Toy Club is an album about time. Rather than simply celebrating the past, it reflects upon the relationships, memories and shared experiences that continue to shape who we become. Throughout the record, Haliniak explores nostalgia not as an escape but as a way of understanding the present, acknowledging both the beauty and the inevitable sadness that accompany the passing of years.
That emotional focus is particularly evident on Fine, one of the album's most affecting moments. The song reflects on youth, friendships that have faded, missed opportunities and the quiet acceptance that certain places and moments can never truly be recreated. Yet instead of becoming overwhelmed by regret, the song embraces memory as something precious, allowing melancholy and gratitude to coexist beautifully.
Even the album's title carries profound autobiographical significance. Toy Club takes its name from the Lyon venue where Thierry Haliniak and Didier Frahier spent countless evenings discovering music and performing together during the early years of their musical lives. In many ways, the album becomes a full circle moment, reconnecting the musicians with the place where so much of their creative identity first took shape.
Musically, Toy Club remains wonderfully faithful to everything that has made My Raining Stars so beloved among fans of classic indie pop. Bright jangling guitars shimmer beneath warm vocal harmonies, while subtle keyboard textures and understated shoegaze influences enrich the arrangements without ever overwhelming the songs themselves. Every melody feels carefully crafted, every chorus effortlessly memorable.
There are echoes throughout the record of the timeless elegance associated with the finest releases from Sarah Records and Creation Records, yet My Raining Stars never feel nostalgic for nostalgia's sake. These songs possess a quiet confidence that comes only from an artist who has spent decades refining a distinctive musical language while remaining entirely true to his own sensibilities.
What makes Toy Club especially rewarding is its remarkable sincerity. Nothing feels forced or calculated. Instead, the album unfolds with the natural warmth of musicians reconnecting through shared memories and a lifelong love of beautifully crafted guitar pop. That authenticity gives the record an emotional resonance that grows stronger with every listen.
With Toy Club, My Raining Stars deliver one of the most touching and accomplished albums of their career. It is both a celebration of enduring friendship and a meditation on the passage of time, wrapped inside eleven beautifully written songs that honour the past while continuing to look quietly towards the future.
A graceful and deeply heartfelt collection where dream pop, indie pop and cherished memories come together to remind us that the most meaningful journeys are often the ones that bring us home.
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