Toro Y Moi (Chaz Bear, fka Chaz Bundick) is definitely past the time of trying to prove himself as an artist. Over the years, the talented musician from South Carolina released a number of very well-received albums and was most frequently recognized for representing the fairly mysterious and dreamy-sounding micro-genre called “chillwave” which emerged in 2009. At the same time, Toro Y Moi never claimed to speak for any specific music trends, but rather experimented with different ideas, influences and genres, incorporating those in his expanding discography, which he opened with 2010 Causers Of This. Throughout the years, Bundick’s music would always bring out the best qualities from indie, pop, and electronic music.

On his fifth album, Boo Boo (sixth if you include his 2014 Michael album recorded as Les Sins), the listeners can immerse themselves in the ambient and often charming sounds of Bear’s newest LP. Taking artists such as Frank Ocean, Travis Scott, Daft Punk or Oneohtrix Point Never as his inspiration, Toro Y Moi created an almost moody and reflective piece of work, which touches upon his relationship with fame and talks about a break-up, explained by Bear on ‘No Show’: “I’ve been to hesitant I’m such a no show, my baby got fed up with my ego, wasn’t even thinking we were going worldwide”.

While ‘Now Show’ is definitely one of the high point of the album, there are other examples of Bear’s ability to pull the audience in, not only with honest lyricism, but most importantly, with intricate arrangements – inventive melodies, funky rhythms and cleverly used synthesizers. Songs such as ‘Labyrinth’ and ‘You And I’ are great examples of Toro Y Moi combining the feelings of lightness and sombre reflection together in an effortless way.

The opening track of the album, ‘Mirage’, is an invitation to Boo Boo’s synth-pop oriented landscape as well as Bear’s return to the influences of ‘80s pop compositions. The leading single, ‘Girl Like You,’ should convince all non-believers in Chaz’s ability to produce tunes which are ambitious and authentic, even with a decent amount of auto-tune being put into use. (7/10) (Alicja Rutkowska)

Listen to Boo Boo here via Spotify, and tell us what you think below!