Toro Y Moi, Outer Peace

[Carpark, January 18]


It’s been a blast to witness Chaz Bear’s evolution as Toro Y Moi over the last decade or so. His chameleonic forays into house, R&B, hip-hop, pop, and psych rock have consistently expanded his sound without ever feeling put-on, a seamlessness thanks in part to his skill behind the boards. His productions can feel astonishingly effortless, to the point that a breezy LP like Outer Peace might be dismissed as slight or superficial. But it’s low-stakes by design: These are playful, gravity-defying tracks, ranging from Daft Punk-inspired disco (“Ordinary Pleasure”) to progressive R&B (the swooning ABRA collab “Miss Me”), expressly intended to balance the weight of your everyday hustle. It’s music to get you through work or traffic with a little more, well, peace, thoughtfully layered so that you can dip in and out of the details as you like. [Kelsey J. Waite]

Weyes Blood, “Andromeda”

[Sub Pop, January 17]

Whether you’re bracing for a blizzard this weekend or you’ve never even seen snow in real life, Weyes Blood has you covered. “Andromeda,” singer-songwriter Natalie Mering’s first new solo material since 2016’s Front Row To Earth, would be equally dreamy as the soundtrack to gently falling snow or cold desert stars. Opening with a warbling soft-rock melody cut with sharp drum machine, the track continues its blending of hard and soft by layering gauzy dream-pop organ and lonesome slide guitar, braiding them together with Mering’s mellow vocals for an effect that’s both retro and very of the moment. [Katie Rife]

 
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