Album Review: Toro Y Moi - Anything In Return

Chaz Bundick – better known as his stage moniker Toro Y Moi – set out with bold ambitions for his latest album: to make the perfect pop record. The 'chillwave' pioneer from South Carolina has a reputation for his nonchalant approach towards his music career; an attitude that serves him well in Anything In Return, as there's a charming and light-hearted element to this work that could not otherwise exist.

Instantly noticeable on opening track, Harm In Change, is the smooth quality of Bundick's vocals, which make an impressive introduction when paired with the stylistic, synthetic loops and clean percussive samples he produces with natural flair. There's an exploration of many different flavours of pop throughout the album, with each track alluding to a certain sub-genre; So Many Details has a distinct hip hop vibe, while Never Matter awakens memories of '80s electropop. The extremely danceable and vivacious track, Cake sees Bundick channelling his inner Justin Bieber, and it's astounding that he's able to sing the incredibly cheesy refrain, “She knows, Ima be her boy forever” without triggering an instant gag reflex. Most importantly, Anything In Return shows a progression and refinement of production efforts when compared to preceding albums, Causers Of This (2010) and Underneath The Pine (2011).

Those who expect pop to sound something like Lady Gaga or Justin Timberlake may believe Anything In Return falls short of Toro Y Moi's ambitious goal; however, at its core the album is every bit the perfect pop record, as it's accessible to a wide audience and has the ability to really get you dancing. Anything In Return is a joy to listen to.