Toro y Moi - Boo Boo

Toro Y Moi
Boo Boo
2017
Spotify

Toro y Moi has vacillated from elusive hip hop artist to Indie rock star and damn near everywhere in between. Each new Toro y Moi is different from the last, not just slightly, but in these really massive shifts. 2015' s What For? felt like a warm blanket, something to be enjoyed in comfortable spaces because the music was so grounded in the past. It was a wave of almost psychedelic sounds that Toro y Moi and tame Impala were both riding. On this record however there is a decided shift to the electronic, the ambient and the experimental. "Mona Lisa" is a really great example because it on one hand has a great little beat that sort of just bops along, but then it also has this almost Aphex Twin level noise aspect. Suddenly a giant electronic bang will happen, or an odd singing somewhere in the distance, really using every bit of 3D sound that He possibly can. It is not where you would expect a Toro y Moi album to go, but then again when has Chaz bear ever done what's expected? "Pavement" is a truly ambient track flowing forward and then spilling into "Don't Try" and allows Chaz to sing in this kind of ethereal space. Toro y Moi really try to build the place they want you to hear this music, the headspace that is. Before Chaz sings a word he meticulously crafts the environment, sets the mood then begins to sing. The patience is simply fascinating, other musicians would feel hurried to get to the point or risk boring the audience but not Toro y Moi.

It does feel a bit like Childish Gambino's move towards a more Prince type of sound is also being done here, but Toro y Moi is so much more experimental with it, willing to really go out on a limb. The albums themes which seem to usually hang around the idea of breakups tend to focus more on the mundane aspects. This interesting music coupled with somewhat boring lyrical content just seems to work because it feels so very real. The dark and funky "Labyrinth" sort of worms it's way into your mind but then plants a seed that grows and grows into something really special. There are times in the middle of the record where you do long for Chaz's vocal or some kind of hook to break up his more ambient leanings. HOwever the smooth delivery of the almost every track ensures that you can find something to enjoy no matter what you are listening to or if it has lyrics or not. The constant evolution of Toro y Moi can be seen by some as a risk but this growth has served him so well and as of yet He has not managed to fuck it up.

8.0 out of 10