Toohey formed the Los Angeles-based alternative rock band
The Cold and Lovely with bassist
Nicole Fiorentino (
The Smashing Pumpkins /
Veruca Salt). While volunteering at the Rock Camp for Girls in Los Angeles, the duo connected with Patty Schemel (
Hole,
Imperial Teen,
Hits So Hard Documentary), who, after listening to the demos, offered up her drums skills and became part of the band. When asked to categorize the kind of music she's making with The Cold And Lovely, Toohey responded "For me, the sound of the band sort of grew out of the fact that I was playing with a bunch of "folk" artists and singer songwriters. As much as I love the artists I work with, I felt like I wasn't really able to branch out from getting those kind of gigs and playing a certain style of guitar. I have always really been drawn to more ambient rock and pop bands like Radiohead, PJ Harvey, The Cure, My Bloody Valentine, and this project gave me a chance to play with those sounds and play the kind of music that I really love." The band released its debut album in June 2012 following a successful
PledgeMusic campaign. According to Toohey, "This record is a return to my own music, something I have been waiting for the right time to jump back into." The first single "Not With Me" was made available on the Cold and Lovely website on April 24, 2012. The album features guest appearances by Brian Aubert of
Silversun Pickups, Kat Turner, and Jeff Klein. On September 24, 2013, The Cold and Lovely released its sophomore record entitled "Ellis Bell EP". A deluxe version of Ellis Bell containing two new tracks and a remix of the song Ellis Bell by Dan Konopka of
OK Go was made available in June 2014. The band released "What Will I Become" on January 20, 2015. ==The Weepies==