Over the past few years, Chaz Bundwick, the bedroom producer turned indie star behind Toro Y Moi, has started forging the reputation as a somewhat musical chameleon. Back in 2010, Chaz was riding atop the chillwave movement, making blissed-out ambient electronica — the kind of music that was ideal for long, warm, summer days. The following year, he strapped on his best pair of vintage sonic skates and carved out a pop record which would make even the dullest of rollerdisco’s glisten. Now, he’s returned once more but in another new direction.
The sweet, free-flowing melodies and glimmering musical frosting Bundwick has previously crafted so well are still present, but the sound of Toro Y Moi has taken on a number of new tricks, keeping the producer’s appeal fresh and allowing him to expand his repertoire significantly. There’s a recurring homage to dance music that runs throughout Anything In Return – playful break beats, analogue synths and big, squelchy bass-lines play a large part on album number three. Rather than play straight into the 90′s throwback kick so many artists are tinkering with these days, however, Bundwick has more fun with these elements.
More to the point, he has fun moulding and mixing them into a series of established and new techniques. One key example of the latter is sampling, a trait which has never been a part of Toro Y Moi’s catalogue until now. His mix of untouched and manipulated samples works so well here that it leaves you asking why they were only just now thrown into the melting pot. The same goes for the quasi chip-tune, video game effects that are sprinkled throughout the record. It’s a little touch that makes a big difference and helps not only define the sound of this album, but expand the overall sound of Bundwick’s musical persona.
Some people might have a problem with the fluid and seemingly free form approach that he continues to take, and a number of people will likely wish he could pick a style and stick with it already. As far as I’m concerned, though, the more he’s willing to blur the edges and stretch the molecular structure of his music, the more I’m going to be interested in the work he’s producing. While overall the album could be a little trimmer and is perhaps not quite as sharp as his sophomore effort Underneath The Pine, the release still works incredibly well as a stand alone record, both in the short and long term. Anything In Return is another infectiously engaging triumph in a discography that’s shaping up rather nicely.
