Toro Y Moi is the musical pseudonym of one 23 year old Chaz Bundick. Although Causers Of This is his debut album, 2010 will be a busy year for him, as this release is the first of two planned albums, both of which are supposed to be very different in scope (with each style introduced on two sides of a recent 7″).

His two styles aren’t entirely clashing, but while his album coming later in the year dabbles in of a lo-fi indie rock feel, Causers Of This is 11 tracks of blissed-out pop music that blends together everything from R&B to shoegazery textures and hip-hop programming. Musically, it falls somewhat in line with what fellow South Carolinian artist Washed Out has been creating, as gauzy textures and dreamy vocals float over muffled beats and deep bass. There’s a little bit of everything in here.

In terms of album openers, I’ll be hard-pressed to find a cut that’s much better than “Blessa” during the rest of 2010. Blurring out of the gate with massively pitch-bent guitars and vocals, the song lopes into a solid, but warbled groove as Bundick adds some crooning vocals. In less than three minutes it manages to pump out enough sunshine to make me think that spring is a littler closer than it actually is.

“Blessa” – Toro Y Moi

In other places, the album dabbles in sort of a pastiche funk (“Imprint After” and the title track “Causers of This”), and in others it thumps into shorter, near instrumental cuts that sound like Prefuse 73 remembering how to have a good time again (“Lissoms”). The release is at its best when it’s dropping the psych-tinged, blown-out cuts like, “Thanks Vision,” though. On this song, as in many other places during the 33 minute album running length, Bundick sounds like he’s pushing everything through a massive compressor, inflating and deflating swirls of sound as he morphs the cut from something that sounds natural at first into a huge, pumping beast. By the time it reaches its peak, there are about five different layers of vocals refracting off one another as a throbbing beat rides underneath guitar and orchestral washes.

“Thanks Vision” – Toro Y Moi

Even without a second album (which is supposedly coming in August), Toro Y Moi has created quite a solid name for himself with this great debut.

(buy Causers Of This from amazon.com)
(buy Causers Of This from Carpark Records)

1. Martin Says:
   February 3rd, 2010 at 6:25 am

   Great find! Here I was praising the new Four Tet (especially Love Cry), but this might actually climb even higher in the february rotation. Has a little Avalanchy feel to it.

2. Andy Says:
   February 6th, 2010 at 10:06 am

   I am loving this. That new Four Tet is pretty fantastic though too. I am busy trying to track down all the stuff on the RA poll’s top 100 tracks of the 00s…lots of new listening out there.