TORO Y MOI — ‘BOO BOO’ (CARPARK)
“I just want everybody to have a good time, I really do,” kicks off an album that’s one hell of good time. Toro Y Moi’s fifth studio album “Boo Boo” has been impossible to put down since it emerged in July. By becoming the perfect soundtrack to any situation — a humid patio brunch, a cruise through the sycamorelined streets of Heritage Hills, a night walk through crunchy leaves, elbow deep in a sink full of dishes — this album delivers huge
doses of ambience that dallies in pop, electronica, R&B and funk.
However, hovering over the bright synths, dry electronic drum beats, and slick melodies is a sense of malaise, as lyrics reveal Chaz Bear’s more personal side. “My baby got fed up with my ego, oh / Oh, wasn’t even wishin’ to be known worldwide / Figured it was better than the southern life” reveals the deterioration of an important relationship as his star grew. Later on “You and I” he laments, “Think you and I just weren’t thinking right / It’s so wild, everybody went
and changed overnight.” Since every song bleeds into the next, it’s imperative to listen to it as a whole, even when it dissolves into maudlin piano riffs on “Pavement,” or dips into a depressive episode with “Don’t Try.” Never fear, the album swings back into action with the beautifully textured track, “Window,” and continues with the addictive single “Girl Like You,” which has lodged into my subconscious, playing on a loop every time I wake up. I’m not mad about it.
— Grace Gordon, for The Oklahoman