Albums
October: 18 albums you need to hear this month
Black Coffee, Aluna George, Tee Mango and more
Yello 'Toy' (UMC)
The peculiar Swiss electropop duo of Boris Blank and Dieter Maier have been operating since the late 70s, and have got around a bit since then: who else, for example, could have both featured in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and been remixed by Andrew Weatherall? 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. Meanwhile, despite being 71, Maier’s urbane persona is as funny, funky and disquieting as ever, and this album is a righteously fresh addition to their catalogue.
8/10
