Dabbling in synth-funk, psychedelic rock, and even new wave, Chaz Bear—né Chazwick Bundick and better known by his stage name Toro y Moi—has, since his debut in the late aughts, come to be defined as much for his chameleonic pursuit of new sounds as his songwriting. His seventh studio album, Mahal, finds him exploring one such new direction, embracing a breezier, jazzier approach than 2019’s more synth-pop-oriented Outer Peace.
This isn’t to say that Mahal is Bear’s A Love Supreme. The hallmarks of the Toro y Moi sound are still well accounted for here: thick layers of reverb; boyish, sweet vocals; and groovy yet mellow beats. But Mahal allows for a fresh interpretation of these core elements, ranging from 1970s film and TV soundtracks to the jazzy indie pop of artists like the Sea and Cake.
Bear’s eclecticism as an artist, and as a music lover for that matter, has never been in question, and songs like “Goes By So Fast,” which is what it might sound like if Bear collaborated with Sven Libaek, is a swooning and intoxicating listen. Later, “The Loop” reintroduces these slightly funky retro influences, overlaying psychedelic guitar passages without suffocating the track’s laidback vibe. Similarly, “Clarity” combines a chilled-out groove with heavier guitars, though it begins to meander as it stretches past the three-minute mark.
The album’s more uptempo cuts gesture toward bossa nova and ’90s post-rock. “Last Year,” “Deja Vu,” and “Foreplay” in particular seem directly inspired by the Sea and Cake’s fusion of jazz instrumentation and electronic music. The latter track is a highlight for how it manages to perfectly balance pop accessibility and more avant-garde experimentation. The song is admittedly skeletal, its shuffling beat accompanied mainly by a slick bassline and Bear’s nasal vocals, but the jarring synth stabs make for a weirdly delightful contrast.
At times, the album’s songs are so breezy that they’re barely indistinguishable from one another. There are moments here, as is Toro y Moi’s wont, where the pursuit of mood takes precedent above all else. And if tracks like “Postman,” “The Medium,” “Mississippi” sound familiar, it’s because Bear has already tread similar ground in the past. But the impeccably produced Mahal feels a lot like the aural equivalent of lazing around on a Sunday afternoon: It might not be the most memorable, but it’s warm, pleasant, and comfortingly familiar.
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