Oakland, CA — Toro y Moi (aka Chaz Bear) is back with a new album, "Outer Peace," and it couldn’t be a better reintroduction. It’s been two years since his last project, "Boo Boo," and while away, Chaz Bear took some time to tour and even explore other forms of art. It would be unfair to box this Toro y Moi album to one genre, as he explores funk, electronic, R&B and pop music, to create one cohesive sound.
According to a press release by Carpark Records, Toro y Moi's "'Outer Peace' is duality. It embodies whatever form you choose to inhabit
Ordinary Pleasure
First released as the album’s second single, “Ordinary Pleasure” is playfully cool as he tells listeners “Nothing can make it better, maximize all the pleasure.” The track opens up with rhythmic bongo-playing while introducing synthesized vocals, and a mesmerizing bassline throughout the song. You wouldn’t think that funk, techno, alternative and pop would mesh so well on a track together but Toro y Moi makes it work.
Baby Drive It Down
"Baby Drive It Down" is one of my favorites off the album, despite the track being three minutes long, it feels like it’s over way too soon. Beware, the replay value on this song is very high, it manages to be a psychedelic upbeat yet mellow track.
Who I Am
“Who I Am” comes in towards the end of the album, with a contagiously fun beat that is for sure going to make people want to dance. Toro blends retro-futuristic 80’s synth-pop with a tinge of 70’s disco-funk. He gets real existential as he contemplates ideas of self- worth and his place in the world.
Monte Carlo (feat. Wet)
Toro doesn't shy from his chillwave roots, everything about the song is hypnotic, from its breezy beat to its background harmonies that fill the track. The singer recruits Wet for a brief hook, but the melodic vocals from lead singer Kelly Zutrau are enough to steal the show.
50-50 (feat. Instupendo)
The singer cited this collab with Instupendo as his favorite song on the album, because it came with a challenge, pop music. Toro y Moi has been hesitant to create pop music in the past, but in this track, he takes pop music and put his own spin on it, and just like the rest of the tracks on the album, it turned out to be very rewarding.