January 16, 2013

Witness: Toro Y Moi

Story by Lindsay Colip

It’s a win-win kind of day here at Witness-This. If you’ve never heard of Toro Y Moi until this moment, you’re in for a huge treat. On the other hand, if you are already savvy to Chaz Bundick’s sound, your treat is even tastier. He’s about to drop his third studio album on Carpark Records called Anything In Return, Jan 22. We’ve been streaming it nonstop since Monday and are happy to announce, it’s excellent.

Even though we were expecting more of the same eclectic chillwave bedroom synthpop gems that were found on 2010’s Causers of This and 2011’s Underneath The Pine, this album takes us on a completely different journey. All three albums are fantastic and worth a listen but AIR may end up coming out on top. A few listens in, the first thought is that the overall sound is waaaay sexier. It’s more seductive, more lounge. Bundick mentioned in an interview that he set out to make “music my girlfriend would dance to” and we think he nailed it. Of course we’re talking about the saunter across your living room sort of dance, not a fist pumping sweat drip dance. There is also a welcome new found funkiness, perhaps due in part to his move to the West Coast this past year from South Carolina. Overall, we dig.

He laughs, “I just wanted to make a pop album and see what happened,” but it’s way more complex than just ‘pop.’ It’s almost as if Jamiroquai, Wild Nothing and The Weeknd had a love child and pals Neon Indian and Hot Chip came over to babysit. It’s silky and yet eccentric. Try “Say That” and “So Many Details” for your appetizer and when you’re feeling comfortable, sink your teeth into “Harm in Charge” and “Rose Quartz.” Bundick and his live band are touring all over the planet for the next few months so make sure to check them out if you can. We think this might just be his year.

Stream full album here