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Chaz Bundick, AKA Toro Y Moi, will be more than accustomed to
the term "chillwave". Coining
alternative terms ("glo-fi" being the most heavily used of these), the
main instigators who carry the term and the scene are Memory Tapes,
Washed Out and his South Carolina companion, Toro Y Moi. And with the
scene being dismissed by commentators before it can get going, Bundick
has been quick to distance himself from any criticism with a
surprisingly diverse debut.
Any claims that the one-man project has latched on to an alluring
bandwagon can be done away with by Causers Of This. Not only did
Toro Y Moi begin nearly 10 years back in 2001 as a "side-project" to
then full-time band The Heist And The Accomplice but, in the
present day, this former bedroom project explores genres that perhaps
had more momentum in previous years; R 'n' B, House and, most notably,
modern-day Dance.
This is a scatterbrain record and, while that plays
into Bundick's hands, it's also potentially a substantial downfall. It
reduces its accessibility. Although the likes of Talamak and
You Hid flux together with perfection, there are more unwelcome,
unecessary arrivals; the chop-and-change Freak Love and the uptempo,
'90s house scene homage Low Shoulder. Both are invigorating listens in
their own right, but each take something away from the flow of the
album.
The core pace and the various rhythms floating amongst a hazy,
ambient fuzz recite the party-scene of Justice's debut, an
album where the tempo is rarely notched downwards, the intensity
becoming close to unbearable. Bundick plays a smart move by
occasionally switching off the drums and the drive entirely, giving
way to nothing but a distant, indistinct abstract fog midway through
Lissoms and allowing Minors to flutter out into a casual, slick exit
after a relentless first two minutes.
The album's highlight, Blessa, is a more toned-down affair, with a
reverb-sipping Bundick begging "Come home in the summer, live a life
that you miss". It's songs like these that you can imagine, with a
little word-of-mouth, being able to develop into summer anthems,
capable of defining the forthcoming months of 2010.
The "chillwave" phenomenon is visually associated with beaches,
sunsets and young love. But more than anything Causers Of This
places itself nicely into a run-down house-party environment. It's a
more claustrophobic record than any of Bundick's contemporaries have
produced, and it does a fine job of separating itself from almost
everything else currently emerging, aiming towards a similar
demographic of youngsters, seeking escape. Toro Y Moi puts
intelligence and inventiveness into a youthful music genre dumbing
itself down at an unduly early stage.
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