Qobuz Store wallpaper
Categories:
Cart 0

Your cart is empty

Yello|Toy

Toy

Yello

Available in
24-Bit/48 kHz Stereo

Unlimited Streaming

Listen to this album in high quality now on our apps

Start my trial period and start listening to this album

Enjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription

Subscribe

Enjoy this album on Qobuz apps with your subscription

Digital Download

Purchase and download this album in a wide variety of formats depending on your needs.

Most North Americans seem to believe Yello's career began and ended with "Oh Yeah," the 1985 tune from their album Stella that became unavoidable in movies and television for years afterward. But the truth is, Yello have been a presence in international pop music since 1980, and with their 13th album, 2016's Toy, they've reminded us that they're still making smart, well-crafted, and politely subversive electronic pop more than three decades after their biggest hit. Stylistically, Toy doesn't sound radically different than the work Yello did in the '80s and '90s, though their touch has grown a bit lighter with time. These tunes are pop that exists somewhere between crisp EDM-influenced rhythms and witty ambient music. Boris Blank (who handles the group's music and production) moves back and forth from upbeat numbers with tuneful hooks and dance-friendly percussive effects to low-key soundscapes that, despite their playful edge, communicate a mood far more than a melody. Vocalist and lyricist Dieter Meier was 71 when Toy was released, but his gruff, smoky instrument fits the clean, polished surfaces of this music remarkably well, like Leonard Cohen's eccentric cousin from Switzerland. Toy wisely front-loads the catchier numbers, especially "Limbo," "Cold Flame" (featuring guest vocals from Malia), and "30,000 Days," while the set closes with more abstract and free-flowing tracks such as "Magma" and "Toy Square." Toy doesn't sound especially innovative, but it certainly demonstrates that Yello haven't been resting on their laurels, and at its best, the album applies new thinking in electronic pop with the melodic and production approaches that have always been part of Yello's music, for a set that's fresh but unmistakably their work.

© Mark Deming /TiVo

More info

Toy

Yello

launch qobuz app I already downloaded Qobuz for Windows / MacOS Open

download qobuz app I have not downloaded Qobuz for Windows / MacOS yet Download the Qobuz app

You are currently listening to samples.

Listen to over 100 million songs with an unlimited streaming plan.

Listen to this playlist and more than 100 million songs with our unlimited streaming plans.

From kr124,99/month

1
Frautonium Intro
00:01:10

Boris Blank, Composer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2016 Yello

2
Limbo
00:03:22

Dieter Meier, Author, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Malia, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Boris Blank, Composer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2016 Yello

3
30'000 Days
00:04:05

Dieter Meier, Author, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Jeremy Baer, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Boris Blank, Composer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2016 Yello

4
Electrified II
00:02:50

Dieter Meier, Author, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Malia, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Boris Blank, Composer, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Malia Chamley, Author

℗ 2016 Yello

5
Cold Flame
00:04:02

Malia, Vocals, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Boris Blank, Composer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Malia Chamley, Author

℗ 2016 Yello

6
Kiss The Cloud
00:03:14

Boris Blank, Composer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Fifi Rong, Author, Vocals, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2016 Yello

7
Starlight Scene
00:03:17

Dieter Meier, Author, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Malia, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Jeremy Baer, Guitar, AssociatedPerformer - Boris Blank, Composer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Malia Chamley, Author

℗ 2016 Yello

8
Tool Of Love
00:03:12

Dieter Meier, Author, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Malia, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Boris Blank, Composer, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2016 Yello

9
Give You The World
00:03:32

Malia, Vocals, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Boris Blank, Composer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel - Malia Chamley, Author

℗ 2016 Yello

10
Dialectical Kid
00:03:18

Dieter Meier, Author, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Boris Blank, Composer, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Heidi Happy, Author, Background Vocalist, AssociatedPerformer - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2016 Yello

11
Dark Side
00:04:15

Dieter Meier, Author, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Boris Blank, Composer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Fifi Rong, Author, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2016 Yello

12
Pacific AM
00:03:23

Boris Blank, Composer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2016 Yello

13
Blue Biscuit
00:03:36

Boris Blank, Vocals, AssociatedPerformer, ComposerLyricist - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2016 Yello

14
Lost In Motion
00:03:32

Boris Blank, Composer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Fifi Rong, Author, Vocals, FeaturedArtist, AssociatedPerformer - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2016 Yello

15
Magma
00:06:27

Boris Blank, Composer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2016 Yello

16
Toy Square
00:03:08

Boris Blank, Composer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2016 Yello

17
Frautonium
00:04:21

Boris Blank, Composer - Yello, Producer, MainArtist - Ursli Weber, Mastering Engineer, StudioPersonnel

℗ 2016 Yello

Album review

Most North Americans seem to believe Yello's career began and ended with "Oh Yeah," the 1985 tune from their album Stella that became unavoidable in movies and television for years afterward. But the truth is, Yello have been a presence in international pop music since 1980, and with their 13th album, 2016's Toy, they've reminded us that they're still making smart, well-crafted, and politely subversive electronic pop more than three decades after their biggest hit. Stylistically, Toy doesn't sound radically different than the work Yello did in the '80s and '90s, though their touch has grown a bit lighter with time. These tunes are pop that exists somewhere between crisp EDM-influenced rhythms and witty ambient music. Boris Blank (who handles the group's music and production) moves back and forth from upbeat numbers with tuneful hooks and dance-friendly percussive effects to low-key soundscapes that, despite their playful edge, communicate a mood far more than a melody. Vocalist and lyricist Dieter Meier was 71 when Toy was released, but his gruff, smoky instrument fits the clean, polished surfaces of this music remarkably well, like Leonard Cohen's eccentric cousin from Switzerland. Toy wisely front-loads the catchier numbers, especially "Limbo," "Cold Flame" (featuring guest vocals from Malia), and "30,000 Days," while the set closes with more abstract and free-flowing tracks such as "Magma" and "Toy Square." Toy doesn't sound especially innovative, but it certainly demonstrates that Yello haven't been resting on their laurels, and at its best, the album applies new thinking in electronic pop with the melodic and production approaches that have always been part of Yello's music, for a set that's fresh but unmistakably their work.

© Mark Deming /TiVo

About the album

Improve album information

Qobuz logo Why buy on Qobuz...

On sale now...

Leave Your Sleep

Natalie Merchant

Leave Your Sleep Natalie Merchant

Keep Your Courage

Natalie Merchant

Keep Your Courage Natalie Merchant

The Köln Concert (Live at the Opera, Köln, 1975)

Keith Jarrett

You're the One

Rhiannon Giddens

You're the One Rhiannon Giddens
More on Qobuz
By Yello

You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess

Yello

Yello 40 Years

Yello

You Gotta Say Yes to Another Excess

Yello

Point

Yello

Point Yello

Touch Yello

Yello

Touch Yello Yello
You may also like...

Come Away With Me

Norah Jones

Come Away With Me Norah Jones

Turn the Lights Back On

Billy Joel

Crime Of The Century [2014 - HD Remaster]

Supertramp

Tubular Bells

Mike Oldfield

Tubular Bells Mike Oldfield

Tea For The Tillerman

Cat Stevens

Tea For The Tillerman Cat Stevens