It's high praise for a band to get compared to '80s pop punks Descendents, and fellow Los Angeles County melodic-punk vets Toys That Kill share a similar backstory. Todd Congelliere previously fronted F.Y.P., a hardcore band with a rotating lineup. F.Y.P. followed a strategy employed by Descendents: changing the band's name to the title of its final album released under the band's former name (see: All). In Congelliere and F.YP.'s case, the title/name in question was Toys That Kill. "F.Y.P. was always so sloppy. It didn't matter who or how bad the drummer is — let's just go on tour and he can leave," says Congelliere, explaining his preference for Toys That Kill. "That's the main thing, and I just like the songs better. They're a lot funner to play." Again following the example of Descendents, Toys That Kill took an unofficial six-year break while its members focused on full-time work, school, and side projects. Descendents singer Milo Aukerman went to college, and Toys That Kill guitarist Sean went to culinary school, inspiring some of each group's best material. Congelliere set up a DIY studio in his garage to record TTK's fourth album, Fambly 42. "If we did a record three years ago, it would have been really bad. I know that for a fact. Instead of just rushing everything, we just took our time and we're really happy with it," says Congelliere.