Search - Toyah :: Anthem

A great CD from Toyah

W. Davidson | Melbourne, Australia | 11/06/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Toyah's music sways between being great pop songs with rich melodies and art experiments tinged with adolescent fantasies of rebellion. You get it all here and Anthem is mostly a delight. There's hot and cold running pop songs (the dynamic "Demolition Men" and "We Are"), atmospheric, mellow numbers ("Jungles of Jupiter" and "I Am"), the big chart hits ("I Want To Be Free" and "It's A Mystery" - a song Toyah hated apparently) and the annoyingly bizarre ("Elocution Lesson").Toyah sings of aliens, the supernatural, androids, Orwellian societies, suburban boredom and everything in between all resolutely encased in her rich, esoteric imagery. I loved it as a rebellious 15 year old and now as a more settled 34 year old I'm loving it only slightly less. Toyah held the spirit of post-punk 1980's in her florid word play, fantastic universes, sometimes nihilistic prophecies and daring individualism. On this CD you get some great extra tracks including For You (previously only available on a flexi-disc with Flexipop magazine) and Alien which she originally recorded as 9 To 5 and credited to The Maneaters in Derek Jarman's film 'Jubilee'. As it is the new millenium you also get a video of the Godley & Crème clip to I Want To Be Free to play on your computer. Anthem represents a time and mood, and as such, succeeds completely."

One Of Her Best

W. Davidson | 10/16/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is absolutely one of toyahs best!!! whoever buys this album will not be disapointed and the cover art is a feast for the eyes. its so hard to find the older toyah stuff in america and for those who are looking for something different to listen to you will not be disapointed with this selection. go on give a try you know you want to....."

A New Wave Classic.

Michael O'Hagan | Eureka, CA USA | 04/27/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Parts of this 1981 release are dated but it's still a striking example of early 80's new wave/post punk. Alot of the songs have sci fi themes which give it an almost prog rock feel at times. Sadly, Toyah never made a name for herself in the States (our loss) but she's been successful for many years in her native UK."