Twelve years after administering their first dose of saccharin alternapop, Toad the Wet Sprocket have come down from their sugar high. |

The Santa Barbara, Calif., quartet, renowned for the Top 40 hits "All I Want," "Fall Down" and "Good Intentions," ended its six-album career after a failed attempt at writing new material in their hometown. In a prepared statement, band frontman Glen Phillips said, "In recent months it became harder to keep everyone satisfied within the confines of the band. It felt like if we stayed together much longer, the tensions would hurt both the music and our friendships."

Band manager Chris Blake called Toad's last stand "the classic definition of an amicable breakup based around musical differences ... they no longer really can meet in something called Toad the Wet Sprocket." The split comes almost exactly three months before the group was scheduled to play its fifth annual benefit concert for the Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center. Blake says the gig has been cancelled and it "doesn't appear likely" there will be a Presidents of the United States of America-like farewell show.

Instead, the band's creative forces, frontman Phillips and guitarist/vocalist Todd Nichols, will begin demoing new songs for their solo debuts. What the remaining members have on the docket is still unknown, although the statement says "look for projects from all four in the near future."

According to Blake, the band has some -- but not Prince-like -- amounts of unreleased material available, primarily from the Coil (1997) sessions. The group released most of its quality outtakes on the 1995 odds-and-sods compilation In Light Syrup. Of course, a "best of" retrospective will follow in the wake of Toad's demise, though it's not known if Columbia Records will attempt to rush the release before this year's fruitful holiday season rolls around. (Blair R. Fischer)