Chaz Bear/Bundick/take your pick has been bobbing along for many a year now, his Toro Y Moi project an ever-present in the decade or so since the rise of chillwave. Ascending the incline from humble home-recorded origins – down-tempo bedroom electronics aren’t an easy set of tools with which to break through the walls of fame. But infectious beats, a knack for a memorable melodic hook and steady dedication to invention and reinvention have established him as a central force in a crowded genre. Despite previous forays into hip-hop and rockier territory, 2017’s Boo Boo nonetheless carried a weariness with it – as though holding up a genre slowly fraying at the seams. All things must pass, and ten years of relevance is a long time in the music business.
Interesting, then, to see what would come with Outer Peace. What could easily have felt a desperate churn of beats and boops to remain heard as the sound slowly drowned him out, Toro Y Moi’s eighth album is actually refreshingly, well…fresh. It doesn’t land every leap nor does it change the game, but in many ways, this lends to its strengths. Outer Peace finds Chaz sticking to what he does best and making catchy compositions wrapped in outstanding production. Reflected in its title and cover art, this is chillwave designed to reach as far as possible – the music made by one man on his computer but aimed to be shared and fill spaces.
It’s particularly felt in the first half with a series of tracks that perfectly bridge pulse and prettiness, danceability and depth. ‘Ordinary Pleasure’ is the first big hitter, its catchy chorus both insanely fun while taking an underhanded jab at modern life. “Does sex even sell any more?” he sings to a driving beat before the synths kick in under cheeky call to “maximize all the pleasure, even with all this weather”. It encapsulates the energy of the opening three tracks, which makes the shift down the comes with ‘Miss Me’, all the more effective. ABRA lends her gorgeous voice to hazy synths as the slowly unfolding ambiance of the song leads into what is comfortably the most purple patch of the record. Followed by the understated thuds, samples and muttered hedonism of ‘New House’ (“I want a brand new house/something I cannot buy”) and the rolling cruise of ‘Baby Drive it Down’ – probably the best song on the album and one of the best Toro Y Moi songs in years – and you have a record you can properly sink your teeth into.
Unfortunately, it does lose momentum as it winds down, the final tracks never quite reaching the heights of its early stages. Even lead single ‘Freelance’ at times feels a little forced in its distortions and, even in its catchiness marks the end of the record’s strongest period. But on the whole, it’s good to see Toro Y Moi still holding his fort and reaching for territories new. He’s an undoubtedly talented producer and songwriter and Outer Peace finds him reaching a type of comfort that doesn’t feel stale, but that which comes easy. The songs here are largely fun and accessible, but contain hidden depths that encourage repeated listens; and that in itself is a testament to Toro Y Moi’s staying power and ability to find new ways of expressing himself.
