Toyen "Malír Smutnej" 1993***

I bought this CD on a whim, just because it was cheap and I liked the cover. I was familiar with Czechoslovakian 60's Beat music but this one was my first contact with the modern Czech indie scene - if such a scene even exists. It's difficult to tell, as there's little relevant information out there. One might blame the Czech language: even speaking it seems like an arduous task to non-natives, imagine trying to sing in it. But one listen to Toyen disproves this theory: their songs are easy on the ear, lyrical and melodic. In fact this album sounds a lot like early U2 - in an alternative world where English hasn't dominated popular culture, Toyen might also be international superstars. As it is, a googlesearch brings up mostly entries on the painter whose name they adopted. Which is just as well, otherwise I may never have heard of her/him: born Marie Čermínova, she/he adopted the name Toyen (from the French "citoyen") and often switched gender identities (usually preferring the male one). She/he was one of the founders and main representatives of the Czech surrealist movement since the 20's, leaned politically towards anarchism,  and saw her/his art championed by André Breton and other surrealist leaders. It's a story well worth reading and her/his paintings are equally worth of attention, so I'm glad this CD led me to the discovery of Toyen the painter. Back to the same-named band, they started as a punk group with the name Letadlo during the Communist era but kept getting marginalized by the government and eventually quit, only to reform with another name after the regime change. They got some international attention thanks to fan Scott Murphy from ABC-TV, but quickly quit any ambitions for an international career - as is evident in this, their second, album being exclusively sung in the Czech language whereas their debut was divided between Czech and English. Opener "Po Stopách Zmizelých Železnic" immediately catches the ear, a radio friendly tune reminiscent of REM circa "Green". It's followed by the lyrical new wave "Ten Druhý" inviting comparisons with early U2 and melodic ballad "Srdcerváč". "Myji Si Ruce" is guitar-driven rock  while "Fotky"'s indie pop carries echoes of The Smiths. "Byl Tu Chvíli" and "Příběh Lásky" are closer to 80's Goth (the former reminded me of Mission) and "Sv. Jan" is another epic U2 soundalike with a "heroic" guitar solo. The last two tracks are a couple of dance mixes that made me drop one star in the rating. They'd be OK as a standalone single (especially "Bestie") but tucked at the end of an atmospheric new wave album, they ruin the mood with their attempt to imitate the British rave scene of the time. That mis-step aside, this CD is another potent reminder that great music continues to grow away from the Anglocentric pop mainstream - if we only open up our ears to it...

**** for Po Stopách Zmizelých Železnic, Ten Druhý, Srdcerváč, Fotky, Byl Tu Chvíli

*** for Myji Si Ruce, Příběh Lásky, Sv. Jan, Bestie (Dancing Groovie Mix)

** for Železnice (N.Y.C. Summer Mix)