by Troy CarpenterThis is the first taste of Toad the Wet Sprocket's brand of California-flavored thinking man's pop. Bread and Circus is a collection of songs Toad had worked up over two years of playing the Santa Monica club circuit, and the album doesn't have the cohesive flow the band would find with later releases like Pale and Fear, but the songs are good from the get-go. "When We Recovered" and "One Little Girl" show two emotional sides to the band's songwriting, and the superb "Know Me" portends Toad's future efforts in one track -- plaintive acoustic strumming, acerbic minor-key angst, and a soaring, defiant chorus.