“New Beat”
from the album Underneath the Pine
2011
iTunes

Chaz Bundick’s previous record, January 2010’s Causers of This, pegged him as a seminal chillwave artist alongside other psych-pop bedroom recorders like Neon Indian and Washed Out. But just over a year later, the 23-year-old South Carolinian a.k.a. Toro y Moi has ditched the layers of glo-fi ambiance and is going instead for the tighter, retro sounds of funk pop and space disco. Bundick moved in this direction with his pulsing, club-ready side project Les Sins, but Underneath the Pine is more personal and, occasionally, sad. (It was written the day after a friend’s funeral, and its title refers to where Bundick will be buried when he dies.) Where Causers of This saw Toro y Moi acting as producer and remixer, the mostly home-recorded Underneath the Pine features all live instruments. Opening track “Intro/Chi Chi” is a middle ground between the textured, elusive qualities of Causers and his slicker new sound. But by track two, “New Beat,” the soulful avant-pop is in full force. The new release is most solemn on the lyric-less “Divina” and the minimal, finger-picked guitar riffs of “Before I’m Done,” but strongest on “Go with You” and “Got Blinded,” where soft, slow-grooving beats, ’60s pop vocals, and a gauzy sheen make for a distinctly post-chillwave sound. So what subgenre tag is appropriate now? Is this discogaze? Funkwave? Only time will tell.

About The Author

Avatar photo

Founded in Madison, WI in 2005, Jonk Music is a daily source for new music.