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

Adele
21
Rating: Meh

Let me get this out of the way first: I love Adele's voice. It's supple, strong, and very expressive. I only wish she would find a way to showcase it better. 21 is a lot more varied than her debut 19, that for me was only notable for the amazing single "Chasing Pavements." 19 feel off the rails with too many songs following the same traditional structure and using the same instrumentation. 21 starts off very strong with the meaty first single "Rolling In The Deep," the rollicking "Rumor Has It," and standout ballad "Turning Tables," that highlights her amazing range. Then the album just derails again for me, with stretch of indistinguishable songs all in the same tempo, and a completely misbegotten cover of The Cure's "Lovesong." She salvages the downward spiral with another stunning song, "Someone Like You," but by then it is just too late. I am not giving up on Adele, as I think her voice is an amazing instrument; she just needs to find a producer/collaborator that will take her out of the rut she is finding herself mired in.

Toro Y Moi
Underneath The Pines
Rating: Meh

Toro Y Moi rode high on the chillwave band wagon last year with his debut cd Causers of This. I enjoyed that album's beats and smooth vibe, but noted that the majority of songs kept to the same template and needed to be varied a little more. As the chillwave genre begins to fade into the background, Toro Y Moi releases his second album Underneath The Pine, that takes an almost completely different approach. Instead of the hazy, gauzy chillwave of the last record, he begins to mine sounds and ideas from the 70s disco and light rock era. Is this change successful? In some ways yes; first single "New Beat," is a blast of liquidy disco. "Go With You," slinks, slides, and moves effortlessly. "Divina" is a gorgeous instrumental, refreshing the light electronica of Air. But the same problems remain. A lot of the tracks feel like sketches that are not fully formed. And Chaz' voice is just too weak to hold interest over an entire album. He would do better to remain more in the background and have guest vocalists.

Dark Party
Light Years
Rating: Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It

Producers Eliot Lipp and Leo 123 make up the electro-duo Dark Party. Their debut album Light Years is a frothy mix of slinky beats, old-school synths and bass, and whole lot of fun. From the Daft Punk-isms of "Patrol Patrol," the Nu Shooz aping synth cut-up "Flats," and the icy tech beats of "Fifth," Dark Party keeps things moving swiftly. There is nothing very innovative about Light Years, but sometimes all that's needed is a good album you can put on and bob your head to.

Salva
Complex Housing
Rating: Grrrr

West Coast producer Paul Salva certainly knows his way around a production studio. His debut cd Complex Housing runs the gamut in styles from standard hip-hop, electro-house, LA beat obsessives, Dirty South, to dubstep, barely letting the listener catch their breath. Even with so many different genres, each track still flows together seamlessly. Standout tracks are the hyper-programmed "Issey Miyake," glitchy throbbing bass-heavy "Blue," and the re-imagining of Robert Owen's Chicago house classic "I'll Be Your Friend." Complex Housing is constantly morphing itself, new sounds and textures emerge and disappear, all floating in a perfect mix; it is definitely worth taking a listen.



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.