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Much like Toro y Moi's first two LP's, Anything in Return sets the mood with an atmospheric intro track, serving to build up an energy that never lets up throughout the album. There's something to be said about nailing an intro track that lingers on your palette throughout the rest of the production. And on "Harm in Charge", we're transported into Chaz Bundick's world. A world that's moved from Columbia, South Carolina to Berkeley, California. Everything that happens in between these points during any expanse of time comprise the central themes of this record: Nostalgia, longing, moving, loving, family, music, vibes, finding comfort, finding yourself...again
Bundick has never had trouble making pleasant music...chillwave beats that just make you want to move. But it's the lyrical leap he took on this album that make it stand out and own up to it's predecessors. It's a certain honesty in his voice that's so relatable and human. We all experience the same things he does and this strengthens our connection to the music. The first words we hear lay out the album's story:
Don't let me hold you down
We could be there now
And I'd rather drive it through the night
It's only one more day
Till we leave this state
And I know she thinks I've changed my mind He's moving cross country with his girl. This one verse says so much about him and them. He's confident in this move. She's not as uneasy about her intentions as she is about his commitment to it all, but his persona is as comforting as his soft voice. It's almost as if chuckles on the last line...Because not only is he confident, but he's radiating with a lust for life. A life with her
This radiance and confidence resontaes throughout the record, but he's never pompous about it. On the album's 1st single, "So Many Details" he affirms what we've come to realize:
You send my life, into somewhere
I can’t describe, so many details It's about as sincere as you can get when trying to convey something that you're not sure about. But as the album progresses, he finds clarity. On the album's turning point, where we see that Chaz is thinking about much more than the woman he's moving cross country with, but also the family that's raise him, he stoically bows:
It's imperfect
It's not forever
That you're further
You're still patientHe's much more than just a considerate lyricist though and on "Rose Quartz", we're treated to grand imperial chillwave beat. The neo-genre hasn't gone away. This beat works the same effect as Neon Indian's "Polish Girl"...Infectiously blissful and it just creeps into your mind and makes you move at the most random times. The effects he employs are carefully constructed and the organic musical nature of this album comes to fruition
Anything in Return marks the first time that Bundick has used live instrumentation not only for his live sets, but in production as well. He played all of the instruments himself, mixed the record and then toured with a live band. On his live shows, he sets up, modestly front and center behind an elaborate keyboard setup, with the mic leaning over towards his unassuming self. Usually with his hair puffed out. The band behind him plays as precisely as he's laid the track out on the record. He's so much more than synth now and the bass lines on "Never Matter" and "Say That" resonate as much as the keys and vocals. Is this the chillwave King?
Visualize and manifest. It takes a lot to come through a third time in a row at only 26. But Toro y Moi has proven that it's gonna take a lot more than a cross country move away from the town he's been his entire life to a town where he's a perfect stranger to slow him down
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#20 Toro Y Moi - Anything in Return
#19 drops tomorrow, so check back! Peep our running spotify playlist of all of the albums included on the list!
