Ah, yes "chillwave"; the flavor-of-the-month music term that only lasts for about three months before people resort to the next beach landscape-accompanied genre. Tsk tsk, when will we ever learn? Though it may be necessary to categorize Toro Y Moi as "chillwave," Chazwick Bundick brings the term into a less sunny environment, with darker melodies and significantly more production effort. Causers of This's album cover represents the structure of the music pretty well: fractured yet layered and still fading into each other, forming something almost intelligible.
This feel becomes apparent in the album's opener and single "Blessa," where jagged samples and melodies appear unexpectedly, but it's evident that there's a beautiful drone humming in the midst as the sound of vinyl crackles over the mix. The concept is fantastic and legitimately vintage-sounding, yet I find that the crackle-and-pop samples of vinyl interfere with the song's rich fades. The rest of Causers of This follow the same formula, yet seem a bit lacking when in comparison to the stellar opener, with the exception of "Lissoms" which is a mind-numbingly psychedelic, dancefloor-ready acid trip of an instrumental.
The rest of these songs suffer from failed attempts at falsetto (see "Imprint After") and an overindulgence of synthesizer effects (see "Low Shoulder"). I'm aware that the purpose of this music is to sound reminiscent of the 80s but--this is 2010; introduce listeners to something a little more inventive, and less laughable. This becomes a bit of a confusing balance between high and low points, because these flaws are compensated with great songwriting, memorable hooks, and a brief incorporation of female guest vocals. On Causers of This, Bundick shows that his project most certainly delivers in terms of songwriting and production, and makes me eager to hear future releases. An overall fun and captivating debut from Toro Y Moi.
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