Toro y Moi shows flashes of brilliance on poppier Anything in Return

Love him or hate him, there's one thing you can't take away from Chaz Bundick: he's never made the same record twice. Bundick, better known under his stage moniker Toro y Moi, got his big break during the height of chillwave, a short lived movement from 2009-2010 championed by a cluster of bands dedicated to making mellow, relaxing electronic music.

Unfortunately, the scene vanished almost as quickly as it arose, leaving its adherents scrambling for a new creative direction. Bundick's debut, 2010's Causers of This, could be placed firmly within the chillwave network, yet Bundick never felt like the type of guy to get pigeonholed within it.

Appropriately, his 2011 followup Underneath the Pine took a different approach entirely, presenting itself as a pseudo Saturday Night Fever electronic funk album. By contrast, his third album Anything in Return is much more energetic than his debut, but by no means as funky or bass driven as his last album. Instead, as Bundick declares, Anything in Return represents his attempt at a pop album.

He does a fantastic job at creating intricately illustrated mental images as evidenced on "So Many Details," which takes place on a Friday night with a special lady. He masterfully portrays his tingling sensation of anticipation as his mind wanders toward undoing the locks on her door and disappearing inside with her. Yet at the same time he is still trying to be a gentleman and respect his lady. His nobler instincts win out in the end, as he declares, "save yourself tonight, tomorrow I'll get you back."

One constant on all of Toro albums is its modern vibe; as expected, Anything in Return is sleek and sophisticated. This is music for the cool kids, providing the perfect soundtrack for cruising around with your friends on the way to some hip club. Standouts "Harm in Change" and "Say That" present a playground of smoky nighttime electronica; neon shapes and textures come whooshing out of the darkness, while a dazzling progression of piano chords ignite your brain's pleasure centers. "Say That" is boosted by a mesmerizing gaggle of wordless voices. If last year's Kindred EP from Burial had been warmer and more inviting,  it might have sounded something like this.

Most of the lyrics are pretty simple, focusing on boy girl relations or just relationships/friendships in general. "Never Matter" speaks most eloquently, touching on failed relationships and isolation: "I think I let my mind go wild/ and I think I'm on the verge of crying/ It's the fact I'm not closer/ to letting anyone inside my life. Bundick's voice is plaintive, but very mellow and listenable. He comes across as likable everyman who is easily relatable.

But he begins to lose steam as the album progresses. After a while, the heavy emphasis on production begins to take away from Bundick's intention of crafting compelling pop. Despite all the elaborately structured loops and layers, it's the chords more than anything else that drive the most successful cuts. Unfortunately, that only comes to full fruition on about half the songs.

"High Living," with Bundick's stunning octave switching, is the strongest cut after the opening  one-two-three punch. "Never Matter" and "How's It Wrong" are charming and engaging, while "Cake," with its strong 80s vibe, is one of the album's most danceable cuts.

That's not to say any of the songs are necessarily bad. The weakest moment comes on Cola, a repetitive  meandering track that suffers from an overload of low end frequencies  Yet Bundick misses a great deal of potential because he forgets the first lesson of pop music: it's done best when it's kept simple.

And so it was that Chaz Bundick created another listenable album, propped up by a few fantastic singles here and there. And yet, despite his well documented penchant for genre hopping, there is one other constant connecting all of Bundick's albums: he has yet to release an album that consistently holds up from start to finish.

Score: 77/100

Underneath the Pine is an interesting experiment, but fails to live up to its predecessor

I was having a chat with my buddy the other day, and he introduced me to Toro Y Moi, the latest trailblazers in a type of music known as chillwave.

What is chillwave, you ask? Good question. I think the best way to explain it is like this: picture this scene.

It's Friday night, and you're in the car cruising down past all the hip clubs and bars with your buddies trying to find some place to land on, but everything looks so totally awesome you just can't decide.

You need a super cool soundtrack for this situation, right? I mean, every generation has had their music for this type of setting. If you were growing up in the 70s, it might be the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack. If it's the early 90s, you might be jamming to Haddaway's "What is Love?"

But if we're talking present day, my friend, then you might very well be listening to Toro y Moi's Underneath the Pine.

Toro Y Moi, also known as Chazwick Bundick, generated waves last year with his debut, Causers of This. The spaced out electronic record received a groundswell of positive review and even garnered whispers of album of the year in some circles.

Does Underneath the Pine live up to those lofty standards? It won't take long to notice this record is a little different. The sound presented here is, generally, a very mellow and laid back sound. Each track is awash in a variety of electronic and synthesizer effects.

But don't make the mistake of thinking this is dance music or anything, it's more like chillout music. It's the perfect thing to put on as background music when you're hanging out with your buddies having a few beers, or driving down the road at night. Through it all, Bundick's vocals hazily drift through the mix. It even sounds a little stonerish at times.

My take on this record: I admire it for its aesthetic and I'd recommend you to give it a listen. You probably haven't heard much that's similar to Toro Y Moi, unless of course you've been listening to other bands within the same scene.The closest comparinson would be to imagine Jamiroqui combined with smooth electronica.

I don't think Underneath the Pine is that great of a record in and of itself, but I respect the idea behind it. I think it could provide the blueprint for much greater musical works that come along in the future. Or maybe it will prove to be nothing more than a slightly wigged out electronic record. But it's still worth giving it a listen, if for nothing else than to experience the vibe.

Score: 75/100