Review Summary: Shifting paradigms, Bundick is not. Still, there is a lot to like here.
It seems that Toro Y Moi have gotten less and less attention with the passing of time. Their debut record, Causers of This, was lauded by many as the pinnacle achievement within the (by my lights unfortunately named) “chillwave” genre. By the time their sophomore record was released, the group had dropped much of what had warranted that characterization, opting for increasingly more digestible and straightforwardly melodic narratives. Since then, the tune has apparently been a steady one: polished, poppy records, simplified and flatter textured than what can be found on Causers. The reception has been lukewarm; Toro Y Moi make average records. Toro Y Moi make passable, relaxing bouts of background sound.
Frankly, though, I just can’t agree that there isn’t a great deal to appreciate about Chaz Bundick, even as time carries us further and further way from what the masses regard as his magnum opus. I don’t think that Toro Y Moi has fallen off even though it can and must be admitted that the project has forfeited a great deal in the way of experimentality and complexity. I feel the same way about 2015’s What For? as I do about this newest record. Toro Y Moi is proficient in a craft. Bundick has proven this by continuing to weave a good deal of subtlety and emotional intelligence into his music, at least most of the time. Moreover, songs like 'Pavement' and 'Don't Try' show that the Toro-gone-pop narrative is not entirely accurate. Layers of darkness and introversion are to be found in more places than just these.
Granted, songs like ‘Mona Lisa’ or ‘Girl Like You’ might, on first pass, lend some credence to the idea that Toro Y Moi has jumped the shark. There have been others to suggest the same (one might think back to ‘Cake’ from the album Anything in Return). But these appearances are deceptive. These songs, weak as they may sound for the fact that they are just so bold-facedly poppy and, at times, mired with unfortunate lyrical romance tropes, the relative effectiveness of their execution is itself a triumph of sorts. Bundick is, in these cases, showing how much better he is at exactly the sort of derivative thing that plagues radiowaves in modern times. I think he succeeds in this, even though this fact is not itself enough to fully redeem these songs. The final step comes when, after repeated listens, one realizes that they are actually fairly good in their own right. In fact, I feel better about Windows and Girl Like You than I do about Cake. So there's progress on this front.
I don’t think things need to be overstated in Toro Y Moi’s favour. Shifting paradigms, Bundick is not. Still, there is a lot to like here. Toro Y Moi has continued to put out worthwhile records. Poppy records that come equipped with some surprises. Toro Y Moi ought not to be treated as the same animal that produced Causers of This. Regrettable as that may be, it is pointless to keep one’s focus there. Lucky for us, there's no need to.
