With 1983's
Girls Night Out
,
Toronto
combined the vocal punch of
Holly Woods
with a deliberate keyboard pounce, boldly dictating the album's
hard rock
sound. Slick but familiar sounding riffs make
"Girls Night Out"
and
"Ready to Make Up"
charged little numbers and are in turn the album's best, while the synth-infused rhythm of
"When Can I See You Again"
carries a worthy,
arena rock
-like beat. With more of a mainstream angle encroaching their music than what is heard on their last couple of albums,
's sound on
contains some
new wave
flair but with a rockier bottom end, mainly because of the formulaic guitar and drum sound. Unimaginative creations like
"Those Eyes,"
"Who's Your Lover,"
"Talk to Me"
sink with either
heavy metal
-ish boredom or savorless
rock
romanticism, and should be avoided. Even so, this and
's first album, 1980s
Lookin' for Trouble"
are the best they have to offer. ~ Mike DeGagne