Toro Y Moi Outer Peace

Chaz Bear never makes the same Toro y Moi record twice. He's spent a decade fine-tuning his chillwave sound, adding elements, refining, and discarding while making albums that constantly confound expectations and still deliver the songs and moods that make him a vital artist. After the narcotic, nocturnal R&B of Boo Boo, he seemingly immersed himself in Daft Punk and the DFA back catalog when putting songs together for the next record. Outer Peace kicks off with a three-song dance party. Rubbery basslines, clicking guitars, wobbly synth squiggles, Bear's open-hearted vocals, and pumping beats fuel the most ecstatic songs Bear has put to tape since his Les Sin's side project. The thunderous bassline on "Ordinary Life" is almost worth the price of admission alone, and the Acid House synth squiggles on "Fading" have a nostalgic glow. It's an impressively exciting opening, but the listener soon crashes back to reality with some late-night R&B that's reminiscent of Boo Boo, but stri