Toy (Yello album)

Toy
Studio album by
Released30 September 2016
GenreEDM
Length61:04
LabelUniversal
ProducerYello
Yello chronology
The Key to Perfection
(2012)
Toy
(2016)
Point
(2020)
Singles from Toy
  1. "Limbo"
    Released: 22 July 2016
  2. "Tool of Love"
    Released: 12 August 2016
  3. "Blue Biscuit"
    Released: 16 September 2016
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic74/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
The Guardian[3]
The Independent[4]
The Line of Best Fit7.5/10[5]
Mixmag8/10[6]
Mojo[1]
musicOMH[7]
Q[1]
Record Collector[8]
The Times[9]

Toy is the thirteenth studio album by the Swiss electronic duo Yello. It was released on 30 September 2016 on Universal Music.[10]

In order to promote the album, Yello performed four sold-out shows at Berlin's Kraftwerk during the last week of October 2016, their first live shows ever.[11]

Reception

A reviewer of Mixmag stated, "On this showing, they’re just as weird and just as wonderful as ever. The first thing that’s noticeable is just how inventive Blank’s synth work still is: whether for floating sunrise ballads, darkly rippling ambient pieces or pumping glam-pop, his sounds bubble and blurt in super surprising ways."[6] Ben Hogwood of musicOMH wrote, " Their latest return from the wilderness feels as though in the wake of a long absence, but in reality the duo have kept at close quarters, plotting their next album even while pursuing solo ventures. And here it is, the brightly coloured Toy – where after a brief intro we alight on planet Yello with some vintage Meier vocals, given from the soles of his boots."[7] A review by the Record Collector commented, "Dieter Meier’s vocals are a little grizzled but retain their dark chocolate vibes. He’s the bohemian who’s seen it all but can’t stop partying, reflecting this in the lyrics. He does however need a few disco naps, these being filled adequately by party guests."[8] Chris Todd of The Line of Best Fit noted, "It all results in their strongest album for over two decades... they're one of those acts who, despite sounding the same throughout their career, have managed to avoid ever sound boring."[5]

Track listing

Standard edition

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Frautonium Intro"Boris Blank, Dieter Meier1:10
2."Limbo"Blank, Meier3:23
3."30'000 Days"Blank, Meier4:05
4."Cold Flame" (featuring Malia)Blank, Malia, Meier4:02
5."Kiss the Cloud" (featuring Fifi Rong)Blank, Meier, Fifi Rong3:14
6."Pacific AM"Blank, Meier3:23
7."Starlight Scene"Blank, Malia, Meier3:17
8."Give You the World" (featuring Malia)Blank, Malia, Meier3:32
9."Tool of Love"Blank, Meier3:12
10."Dialectical Kid"Blank, Heidi Happy, Meier3:18
11."Dark Side"Blank, Meier, Rong4:15
12."Blue Biscuit"Blank, Meier3:36
13."Magma"Blank, Meier6:27
14."Frautonium"Blank, Meier4:21

Deluxe edition

Deluxe edition
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Frautonium Intro"Blank, Meier1:09
2."Limbo"Blank, Meier3:22
3."30'000 Days"Blank, Meier4:05
4."Electrified II"Blank, Malia, Meier2:49
5."Cold Flame" (featuring Malia)Blank, Malia, Meier4:02
6."Kiss the Cloud" (featuring Fifi Rong)Blank, Meier, Rong3:13
7."Starlight Scene"Blank, Malia, Meier3:16
8."Tool of Love"Blank, Meier3:12
9."Give You the World" (featuring Malia)Blank, Malia, Meier3:32
10."Dialectical Kid"Blank, Heidi Happy, Meier3:18
11."Dark Side"Blank, Meier, Rong4:15
12."Pacific AM"Blank, Meier3:22
13."Blue Biscuit"Blank, Meier3:35
14."Lost in Motion" (featuring Fifi Rong)Blank, Meier, Rong3:32
15."Magma"Blank, Meier6:26
16."Toy Square"Blank, Meier3:08
17."Frautonium"Blank, Meier4:20

Personnel

Band
  • Jeremy Baer – guitar
  • Boris Blank – vocals
  • Heidi Happy – vocals
  • Malia – vocals
  • Dieter Meier – vocals
  • Fifi Rong – vocals
Production
  • Helen Sobiralski – photography
  • Martin Wanner – photography
  • Ursli Webser – mastering

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2016) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[12] 16
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[13] 80
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[14] 82
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[15] 48
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[16] 2
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[17] 13
Scottish Albums (OCC)[18] 75
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[19] 55
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[20] 1
UK Albums (OCC)[21] 84

Year-end charts

Chart (2016) Position
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[22] 59

References

  1. ^ a b c "Reviews for Toy by Yello". Metacritic. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  2. ^ Deming, Mark. "Review of Toy". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  3. ^ Simpson, Dave. "Album review Toy". The Guardian. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  4. ^ Gill, Andy (29 September 2016). "Album reviews: Drive-By Truckers, Van Morrison, Bon Iver, Pixies, Regina Spektor and more". The Independent. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  5. ^ a b Todd, Chris (22 September 2016). "Swiss duo Yello get electrified, and deliver their best album since 1991". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b "October: 18 albums you need to hear this month". Mixmag. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  7. ^ a b Hogwood, Ben (11 October 2016). "Yello - Toy | Album Reviews". musicOMH. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Toy - Record Collector Magazine". Record Collector. 6 October 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  9. ^ Hodgkinson, Will. "Album review Toy". The Times. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  10. ^ "Yello - Timeline". Facebook. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  11. ^ "Yello announce first ever live shows and new album Toy". Factmag.com. 2016-05-27. Retrieved 2016-09-15.
  12. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Yello – Toy" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 October 2016.
  13. ^ "Ultratop.be – Yello – Toy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  14. ^ "Ultratop.be – Yello – Toy" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  15. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Yello – Toy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  16. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Yello – Toy" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  17. ^ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 2016. 40. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
  18. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  19. ^ "Swedishcharts.com – Yello – Toy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
  20. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Yello – Toy". Hung Medien. Retrieved 10 October 2016.
  21. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 8 October 2016.
  22. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade Alben 2016 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 January 2017.