NEW TORO Y MOI ALERT.
About a month ago, Toro y Moi wrote in a statement that his new album Boo Boo was set to drop July 7th.
Toro y Moi, who also changed his real name from Chaz Bundick to Chaz Bear, wrote a detailed statement about the pressures of fame and that he had been suffering from an identity crisis. Chaz Bear wrote,
“I felt as though I no longer knew what it was that I actually wanted and needed in and out of life, and at times I felt unable to even tell what was real.”
But Bear didn’t just write about his own battles with fame and identity, he also shed some light on his inspirations for his new album and his perspective on his music.
Bear highlighted Frank Ocean, Travis Scott, and Oneohtrix Point Never, specifically how they deal with the idea of ‘space’ in their music, as artists who influenced his album,
“By the time I felt ready to begin working on a new record, I knew that this idea of space within music would be something that propelled my new work forward. The artists that were influencing what I was making included everyone from Travis Scott to Daft Punk, Frank Ocean to Oneohtrix Point Never, Kashif and Gigi Masin. I recognized that the common thread between these artists was their attention to a feeling of space, or lack thereof. I decided that I wanted to make a Pop record with these ideas in mind. That idea for a record is what eventually became Boo Boo.”
Earlier today, a day before the official release of Boo Boo, Toro y Moi dropped a visual accompaniment to the new album.
The video, directed by Company Studio and shot by Tyler McPherron, starts with a wide shot of Chaz and a friend taking selfies overlooking San Francisco.
Soon enough, the duo jumps in an old van and the video captures Chaz on a long drive through the Bay Area. The camera often holds for minutes at a time giving the viewer a literal backseat to Chaz’s road trip as the sun goes down over the Bay.
Random images of Chaz dancing, playing piano, contemplating life, or standing in front of a green orb are occasionally interspersed over the long shots.
The video ends as Chaz finds another vantage point of the city and there’s a very poignant ending (if you’re willing to rock with the whole video).
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWNt0CPjuc_/
As for the music itself, Boo Boo is an exceptionally wonderful project. You can hear the influences Chaz cited creep into the music, at one point there is a very Travis Scott-like breakdown.
The lyrics are as emotional as any Toro y Moi has ever written. Full of heartbreak, longing, and anxiety, illustrating his own battles over the past years with fame and relationships.
At times this album will make you want to get up and dance, at others it may bring a tear to your eye.
Even off two brief listening/viewing sessions, it’s clear Chaz Bear has made a powerhouse of a record, one that will be bumping from my speakers all summer and beyond.