It’s always enjoyable to watch the progression of a great artist, from the humble beginning to becoming a fully fledged pioneer of innovative music. Toro Y Moi is certainly an artist that has progressed with time, from the chopped and skewed ‘chillwave’ genre-defining debut Causers of This to the more accomplished and laid back dulcet tones of this year’s Underneath the Pine, a resonant step forward which flirted with funk and ambience.
New EP Freaking Out sees Toro Y Moi dipping back into idiosyncrasies from both of his previous albums. The thrust and woozy synth rhythms of Causers of This and the lyrical progressions and big choruses of Underneath the Pine are rather unashamedly roaming free across these 5 new tracks. Opener “All Alone” is outright disco, and among repeating synth intricacies, Chaz Bundick’s vocals take centre stage, sharply interjecting and looping mesmerically alongside the hip-hop tinged beat at the track’s core. Title track “Freaking Out” meanwhile features fairground style organ melodies and sounds like a wonderfully abstract and hazy drug trip, not too dissimilar to Underneath the Pine stand outs “How I know” and “Still Sound.”
Highlight “Saturday Love” is a well-chosen cover of classic 80s soul singer Cherelle. Bundick’s re-imagining is unmistakably 80s-tinged and carries on the song’s legacy by adding modern production and playing out the infectious yet simple chorus “Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday love.” It’s admirable to see Toro Y Moi looking backwards to go forward unlike other chillwave tagged artists that are stuck in a never ending loop hole.
All in all, the EP gives the sense of being sucked into another world, from the visually challenging artwork to sheer breadth of ideas explored. However what is perhaps most remarkable about this EP is Chaz Bundick’s ability to take existing ideas from his previous output and combine them to make something even more exciting and interesting. This EP will undoubtedly leave many slack-jawed in anticipation of Toro Y Moi’s next full length release, but for now Freaking Out is a delectable taster that samples sounds we can hope to hear on his next full length.
