REVIEWS From Splendid Zine: First off, let me say that as a general rule, one should buy any recording whose cover features a skinny, shirtless French guy singing to an orange. It's just good sense. And in fact, Noah Wane and I actually had to leg wrestle to determine who would get to review this one. Luckily I was all jacked up on Dr Pepper at the time, so I won. Anyway, back to TOOG's CD, 6633. It's charming as heck. It's also really goofy. And strange. TOOG doesn't really sing, he just sort of recites the lyrics and lets his cute little French accent do all the work for him. Speaking of lyrics (which are mostly in French), a typical verse from "Mon Pantalon Blanc" ("My White Trousers"): For you I want to become someone good Learn to avoid mud puddles while walking I want to try to eat properly And no longer soil my white trousers (translation from the CD booklet) It's great stuff -- somehow really mellow, calm and reasonable, but at the same time totally wacky and deranged, in a strange, understated way. The music is light, synthy, playful. There's not a bass drum or guitar for miles, but there are plenty of tweaky little noises, bleeps and bloops, birdie twerps, all sorts of fun things. I'd call this lounge music, but I'm really not sure what planet the lounge would be on. A very stylish, playful, quirky, baffling planet, at the least. It's Planet TOOG -- Here's your ticket! -- Irving Bellemead CMJ 11 29 99 Issue 645: After a cursory listen to and glance at the cover art of Toog's (a.k.a Gilles Weinzaepflen's) U.S. debut 6633, one might suggest that the Frenchman take up some calisthenics -- it might pump up his porcelain-thin physique and jack up the pulse of his finely calibrated synth-poems. But maybe that's just the Ugly American in us talking. A look at the English translation of Toog's nearly conversational French vocals reveals that although his songs bubble along blithely, his lyrics tell highly entertaining and frequently silly tales of existential struggle. Just listen to "Le Prefere," in which Weinzaepflen assumes the voice of a frustrated suitor whose married lover won't get rid of a snarly guard dog, or "Mon Ideal," a one-lyric tune that makes the poignant confession, "My architectural ideal/Is to live under the same roof as you." - Carlene Bauer Melody Maker: Toog: AKA French quirky berky Gilles Weinzaepflen, these vignettes are music hall numbers for the Atari generation. Charming, frequently baffling and loveable. But listening to it all at one time fucks with your head.