Toro Y Moi - Cola

It’s no secret that I’m a big Toro fan. Chaz Bundick helped launch and popularize the chillwave movement that I, like so many others, fell in love with during its height. His music, however, can hardly be labeled as chillwave anymore. His vocals have become progressively less hazy. Moving towards a more pop-infused aesthetic, he’s tinkered with the sounds within his music to create something new. Often times saying that music defies categorization is lazy, and ignores the due diligence deserved towards the influences and culture that surround a body of work. Toro Y Moi is an exception.

While retaining a signature sound dripping with bleary electronics, Bundick’s song structure and composition makes leaps between albums. On his forthcoming Anything In Return, this gap is evident as well, and it’s wider than what we’ve previously seen. Underneath the Pine and his following EPs were natural progressions from what he established on Causers of This, even though his approach was remarkably different. Anything In Return, which is currently streaming here, is a step farther away from this. Its influences, instrumentation, and songwriting are all over the map on this one. It’s much more diverse than previous showings. This is a great thing, though. Musical heterogeneity can be risky. While it can make the finished product more unique and expansive, it runs the risk of detracting from a clear focus. Fortunately, Bundick is able to weave together recurring themes and sentiments that help this album take the route of the former.

On Cola, we’re exposed to the immense strain put on his romantic relationship while he’s on the road. It has a numbing effect. “Some days slip by me,” he says, but we don’t know if he’s telling us or his other half who he stops thinking about. It’s a more personal offering of his, but he ends it on a positive note, reiterating that he’ll “make it through”. 

Enjoy (like I will be when I see him a month from now)!

-Andrew

(Source: soundboard)