Description
HOLY TOY – YES AND NO (1989)
Very few of the Norwegian bands in the period discussed here ever had the opportunity to release a record consisting of various junk and fast that they could not release elsewhere. However, Holy Toy were never like the other bands of the period, thus necessitating a record of outtakes, soundtracks and re-recordings. Yes and No deals with material from a longer period in the band's history: there are outtakes from Pakt of Fact, there is film music from the legendary film X (with Jørn Christensen in the lead role and Holy Toy in a sequence), and there are re-recordings and reuse of material from back in De Press. The fact that Yes and No is not an ordinary LP, but rather a collection of debris and speed, is actually one of the things that makes the record work as well as it does; the material is fragmentary, often abstract and unfriendly, but overall it is a good, varied mix, partly dark ambient and partly collage-industrial. The opening track "Pop" is a whimsical instrumental, driven by a typical beaked bass line and layers upon layers of synths, which together form an early highlight. "Rock" and "Metro" are taken from the film X ; the former is 40 seconds of rumbling room-next-door rumbles, while the latter is a longer atmospheric piece, not unlike parts of "Why Not In Choir?" from 1985. Garbi and Check Productions are partly built on the same foundation; the former a long, fast collage party where Russian and American politicians speak against each other, Nebb the speed rapper, and a church choir appears towards the end, while the latter is drawn more in the direction of hip-hop. "Kiss Me Pusha" appears both as an instrumental and with vocals; the song is a blissful mix of Nebbsk hip-hop, hair metal guitars and a surprisingly interesting rhythm track, in addition to samples from the De Press song "Kic Me Rusia". De Press also appears in the form of a remake of the classic "Kalhoz", here in a more mechanical, synthetic suit. Finally, the song "Holy Day" can be mentioned; this is a variation of the song "Tresure" from Pakt of Fact , but this version is more hard-hitting, with increased intensity and bloodshot eyes. As a whole, the record works surprisingly well, and should be considered a full-fledged part of Holy Toy's discography (Text: Eine Keine Angst Musik)
1 Pop
2 Rock
3 Garbi
4 Bridge
5 Kiss Me Pusha (Instr.)
6 Foots
7 Kalhoz
8 Check Productions
9 Oko 1
10 Oko 2
11 Holy Day
12 Metro
13 Kiss Me Pusha