Customer Reviews

White Lights

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I hate to be the one to draw the line in the sand and criticize this album, but I cannot bring myself to enjoy this as much as the other reviewers seem to. I cannot really even pinpoint what the definitive problem is. The entire album is listenable and for the most part, enjoyable. The songs are all slickened synth tracks that fit into the synthpop genre like a glove on a hand. Their record label is the wonderful 'A different Drum' label( IRIS, anyone? ) and the voices of these German vocalists are certainly pleasant enough. With that as only the tip of the iceberg for this band's shining features I certainly wouldn't blame you if you ignored this review and dismissed me as simply lacking in taste. So why only 3 stars? For something that is being touted by other reviewers as something absolutely wonderful( and comparable to that of the magnificent De/Vision?!?! ) I found myself somewhat underwhelmed. All the pleasant vocals, lyrics, beats, and melodies somehow add up to some tiresome and uninspired mediocre synthpop. Iris, De/Vision, Cosmicity, Wolfsheim, etc, all had some distinguishing quality( whether that happened to be the vocals, synths, lyrics, or all of the above ) that made them special. T.O.Y is not a bad band by any means, nor is this album a total waste of money for the synthpop fan but if you're looking for something that is going to simply blow you away as stated in other reviews, then you may be disappointed. Pleasant enough, but a little borning and very uninspired. There is no special distinguishing feature present to make this album really interesting.

This probably wont be my last experience with T.O.Y. I'm going to check out some of their material from when they were still "Evil". Maybe then I'll find out what's missing.

What a pleasant surprise it was to listen to this CD. I've enjoyed Evil's Toy and didn't know what to expect after the format change.

This is great synthpop, lushly atmospheric, dark yet catchy, sweet yet melancholy. White Lights ranks right up there with Awakening by Iris and A Secret Wish by Propaganda in the steller synthpop CD dept. A great listen from start to finish, check out "Beyond Sleep".

Dynamite evolution by a great band.

This whole CD is wonderful, and if you can find the limited edition with bonus remixes, that's even better. The conversion of Evil's Toy in to T.O.Y. was an excellent decision, if not simply a natural progression. Morbid Mind era Evil's Toy fans may not appreciate the synthpop leanings here, but if you are a fan of Angels Only! and beyond you might want to pick up this chapter of the Evil's Toy / T.O.Y. story.

This is an extremely catchy and danceable album. T.O.Y. has a way of making songs that you can't help but sing along to and move your body to. This was my introduction to T.O.Y., and it caused me to hunt down some of their other albums immediately. It's that addictive! My faves are "Beyond Sleep," "The Sky Is the Limit," "Fairytale," and "Another Lovesong." The only songs I'm not crazy about are "The Liquid Circle," which just feels a little too new agey and out of place, and "Inner Cinema," which is good - just not as great and memorable as the others. I think I like "Space Radio" a litle bit better than "White Lights" just because there is a bit more variety and emotion on "Space Radio," but both are amazing. If you like synthpop, dark or light, you'll probably like T.O.Y.

Volker Lutz (vocals, programming, production) and Oliver Taranczewski (lyrics, keyboards) know how to create and produce groovy pop songs, and the new album "white lights" contains the newest of these songs. "fly away" is a modern up-tempo song in the usual T.O.Y. style that is familiar to listeners of the album "spaceradio". Similar to this, "fairytale" and "two souls" resound with pure positive energy, while the title track "white lights" is a melodic and dramatic pop ballad, a song that is both dreamy and catchy. But T.O.Y. also create dance tracks such as the up-beat "Another Lovesong", a trance-like track, and they also provide us with really tricky breakbeat tracks like "inner cinema", the instrumental track "the liquid circle" and the retro-style track "long-distance ride". The latter is a mixture of both the eighties sound and a haujobb song. As you can see, "White Lights" is a very diverse album, and the result enhances the reputation of T.O.Y as purveyors of fine synthpop.

I have received another awsome release that also belongs on the best of 2003 list.

This new release from T.O.Y. is more than amazing and like the Colony 5 release, it is filled with heart pumping dance anthems.

T.O.Y. started out as an Industrial band called "Evil's T.O.Y." and as time progressed, they decided to ditch the Evil and become a synthpop band.

This was the best move for this band cause they are now one of the best and most respected German synthpop bands around.

If you are fan of De/vision, you will love T.O.Y.'s "white lights". Volker Lutz is genius when it comes to song writing and production and his vocals never sounded better nor more mesmerizing. Oliver Taranczewski's also does a great job on the lyrics and keyboards. The lyrics are now fantastic and very intelligent which is a great improvements to the lyrics of "Space Radio".

This album is pure synthpop at its finest with lots of melodies, and catchy hooks. Its made for the dance floor as T.O.Y. delivers this album with their unique Trancy sound that has made them stand out among all other synthpop artists.

Aside from dance anthems, there are a few ballads and mid tempo songs that show us that T.O.Y. is not just for the clubs and are so much more.....

Steffen Keth of De/vision also performs a song on this album called "the sky is the limit" that is just fantastic.

This is truly T.O.Y.'s best....

I am just going nuts over all these great new synth-pop releases in 2003.

I am a hardcore Industrial Goth fanatic, but I am always up for trying out new tunes that digress from this genre. I happened upon T.O.Y.'s "Fairytale." It interested me enough to get the album "White Lights," and, well....it's so darn PRETTY! It's so mellow and flowy and romantic in a "makes you think" and "makes you dance" sort of way. Man, this review will now probably turn you off. But really, this is good stuff! Just because it's pretty doesn't mean it's for weenies by any means.

TOY formerly known as Evil's Toy has to be one of the top EBM related bands out there right now. These guys just keep putting out nothing but top notch releases and White Lights just might top them all. You can always expect nothing but the best from these guys, production, sound quality, recording, programming, vocals, the whole mix!

White Lights has a lot of melody and a great ebm type pop sound going with some of the best vocals from Volker Lutz. As a DJ I find myself playing a lot of tracks off this disc including, "Fly Away" (one of my personal favorites), "Beyond Sleep", "The Sky is the Limit", "Fairytale" and "Another Love Song".

As a music fan and a DJ I highly recommend White Lights, you will not be disappointed.

Formerly Evil's Toy, T.O.Y. has come a long way since their first album, Human Refuse. Over the years their style has slowly drifted from darkwave/industrial to melodic synthpop. White Lights is their latest album, and while it's obviously their most commercial work yet, their music has yet to lose any of it's power. Ignore the corny cover art, these guys know what they're doing when it comes to electronic music. Volker's deep vocals match the beautifully orchestrated melodies perfectly, creating music that is both up-beat but peaceful and relaxing. Most songs on here are high bpm ballads with unquestionable dance-floor potential...but one thing I've noticed is the repetitve tendencies in them. The chorus is repeated alot more often than their older songs, and the lyrics are more simplistic also. These are only minor problems really, and do little to effect the overall quality of the album. If you are looking for another quality synthpop/ebm album to add to your collection, you've found it. Buy White Lights today while the limited edition is still available, since it has a few bonus tracks.

"Volker Lutz (vocals, programming, production) and Oliver Taranczewski (lyrics, keyboards) know how to create and produce groovy pop songs, and the new album "white lights" contains the newest of these songs. "fly away" is a modern up-tempo song in the usual T.O.Y. style that is familiar to listeners of the album "spaceradio". Similar to this, "fairytale" and "two souls" resound with pure positive energy, while the title track "white lights" is a melodic and dramatic pop ballad, a song that is both dreamy and catchy. But T.O.Y. also create dance tracks such as the up-beat "Another Lovesong", a trance-like track, and they also provide us with really tricky breakbeat tracks like "inner cinema", the instrumental track "the liquid circle" and the retro-style track "long-distance ride". The latter is a mixture of both the eighties sound and a haujobb song. As you can see, "White Lights" is a very diverse album, and the result enhances the reputation of T.O.Y as purveyors of fine synthpop."