Album Review: Toro y Moi - Outer Peace

Over the past decade Chaz Bear, under his Toro y Moi moniker, has steadily been honing his craft over many releases, each one presenting a refined and pretty sophisticated vision of electronic pop music. Typically filed away under chillwave, there is a funky, disco-house bounce to Outer Peace that packs plenty of feel-good summer heat to make it pool party ready. Although we have been pushed and pulled to the bump and grind of these beats for many years now, Bear’s slick production makes these familiar templates feel fresh and fun.

Lyrically, Chaz Bear is introspective. Freelance finds him contemplating the chaos that whizzes around us as he works to define his own space with his lyrics, determined not to be crowded out by increasingly faster fashions. New House laments housing affordability while Who Am I contemplates the divide between the indie kids who are here to see the band and the club kids who come to party. On some level, Toro y Moi is positioned somewhere in between these two extremes. Collaborations with ABRA, WET and Instupendo are noticeable in that they have deeper and dreamier reach. It suggests that Chaz Bear’s guest artists have drawn him out and stretched him to another level.

Outer Peace showcases Toro y Moi’s ample skill in crafting electronic pop that reflects the times and just feels perfectly contemporary.