Inventor of chill-wave Mr. Chaz Bundick, aka Toro Y Moi, is back with his fifth album in as many years, What For? which was recorded in Bundick’s home, and features contributions from Julian Lynch, and Unknown Mortal Orchestra‘s, Ruban Nielson.
And What For indeed? Branching away from the aforementioned chillwave, we see Toro step away from the synthesizers, and take a leap towards guitar riffs, which leaves a more psychedelic taste than original fans will be used to. If you’re thinking something along the lines of Tame Impala – you wouldn’t be too far from the truth.
Having listened to this album a few times, the songs individually are quite enjoyable, however, they creep onto the edge of repetitive a bit too frequently, with the sounds from across the album occasionally blurring into a big chunk of same samey-ness. Apart from tracks ‘Empty Nesters’, ‘Ratcliff’, ‘Half Dome’ and my personal favourite ‘Spell It Out’, it gets hard to differentiate between tracks at times.
In a press release, Bundick said, “I’ve done electronic R&B and more traditional recorded type R&B stuff. I just wanted to see what else was out there. It’s all coming from the same mindset and point of creativity. It’s just me trying to take what I already have, and then take it further.”
Despite this new sound verging on monotonous, What For? really is an enjoyable listen, and Bundick has managed to keep one thing different – the lyrics. Proving that although he may have side stepped his original genre, his songwriting is still as relevant as ever.
So we ask the question again, What For? and the answer is as simple as this, if you want an enjoyable listen, something that can be played on repeat without irritation, something that is suitable for a relaxing Sunday afternoon – then you’ve come to the right place.
Rating: ★★★☆
Toro Y Moi‘s new album is available now through Carpark Records.
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