Album Review: Toro Y Moi - Anything In Return

Toro Y Moi
Anything In Return
Rating: Grrrr

Emerging in 2010 at the height of the chillwave movement, Chazwick Bundick, AKA Toro Y Moi, flaunted his production skills on his memorable debut, Causers Of This. As chillwave morphed from a movement to a punchline, Chaz switched gears on 2011's Underneath The Pine, moving towards a more structured pop song format, which for me muddied his sound and was particularly wan and unsatisfying. So, for his latest record Anything In Return, I wasn't expecting much other than more of the same. Luckily, I was impressed, as Chaz took the best parts of both his records, added a little more 70s funk and R&B vibe to the mix, and has created, while perhaps not his most defining moment, his best record so far.

Bundick eases into the record with the low key intro "Harm In Change," which rises from found samples, rolls of echoed piano chords, and washes of synths, building into a fairly dense track. Which sets things up for a stretch of some seriously catchy pop tracks. From the dreamy keyboard funk of "Say That,"



first single and album standout "So Many Details" which is a texturally rich R&B track which folds and unfolds on itself in interesting ways,



the haunting vocals and piano chords of "Cola" which are underscored by buzzy synths, and to the particularly brilliant track "Grown Up Calls" with its funk keyboards and insistent vocal from Bundick building into a frenzied mesh of keyboards of space lounge percussion, Bundick hits the ball out of the park more often than not.

The criticisms with the record mainly stem from the fact that there is a general mood to the album, and over the long haul some of the tracks tend to blend into each other. And several of the tracks tend to play out like unfinished sketches, like the meandering instrumental "Rose Quartz," slightly dirge-like "High Living," and bland "Cake" which relies too much on slightly irritating synth runs.

But when you think he is getting off the rails, he always finds a way to bring things back in focus, such as on the sunny, bouncy 80s funk of "Never Matter" or the hip-hop inflected "How's It Wrong."



For me,Anything In Return is a huge leap forward from Underneath the Pines, really focusing on his two disparate interests and finding a way to merge the two into someone cohesive and moving. While it is not a masterpiece by any stretch of the imagination, it is by far his best and most interesting work, and paves the way for even better things to come.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.

Mini-Reviews Part Deux

Belle and Sebastian
Belle and Sebastian Write About Love
Rating: Woof Daddy

I tend to forget how amazing Stuart Murdoch and co. are.  Unlike most of my favorite bands, when I hear of a new Belle and Sebastian album coming out I don't get excited and thrilled and anxious to hear it.  I usually say to myself, "oh, there is a new B&S album, I'll get it sometime."  Then I hear it, and I have to ask why I waited so long.  Of course, the trend continued with Belle and Sebastian Write About Love.  I waited until the last couple of weeks to listen to it, and now, predictably, I can't stop playing it.  I will actually venture to say this is one of their strongest albums, even better than The Life Pursuit, which was almost flawless.  Full of charming and wry lyrics, and some of their sunniest, most agile melodies, this album is the perfect antidote to a grey day.

 

Deftones
Diamond Eyes
Rating: Grrrr

Deftones have always been one of the more interesting metal acts to me, not so much for their harder edged material, but for their willingness to expand their boundaries to encompass more alternative-type music, such as shoegaze, electronic, and even pop music. Diamond Eyes doesn't stray much from their usual template of heavy material interspersed with more textural sounds, like the gorgeously gauzy "Beauty School" and "Sextape." But this is hardly a criticism, as why fix something that is not broken. However, the downside to such an approach is that if you are not already a fan of Deftones, this album will not likely change your opinion of them. If are a convert, it is another strong release in their catalog.

Lone
Emerald Fantasy Tracks
Rating: Grrrr

This album is a total guilty pleasure for me. It is not forward thinking dance music, it is pure unadulterated house/techno that borrows liberally from all of my electronic music touchstones (808 State acid house, Chemical Brothers big beat, Prodigy rave) but makes it all about having fun and getting your ass on the dancefloor.

Toro Y Moi
Causers of This
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Toro Y Moi (aka Chazwick Bundick) is lumped into the genre known as chillwave (though no band that I know of wants to be known as such) with other acts such as Washed Out, Memory Tapes and Neon Indian.  The music is reliant on heavily processed vocals, guitars, and gauzy keyboards, creating a sound that seems nostalgic but can't be pinpointed to one era.  Causers of This, the debut from Toro Y Moi, is a strong album, owing to his playfulness with the sounds and melodies, seemingly taking an almost Flying Lotus approach to his music and adding a more pop bent to the songs.  However, this is also the downfall of the record, in that every song pretty much adheres to the same template of silly, crazy, processed sounds and beats with a hazy vocal overlay.  After awhile, the sugary-sweetness becomes too much.  With a little polishing and more variety in their sound, I can definitely see him put together a classic record.



Rating Guide

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top albums of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and peaks one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been trimmed or polished.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.