It is this album, with the more polished production, that shows off Toro y Moi as much more than just a chillwave innovator.
Bundick’s genius on Anything in Return is that he blends these poppy moments into the overall fabric of the album and the whole thing holds together in a tightly wound, perfectly constructed ball of sound and songcraft. It may not be the most immediately exciting album of his career, but it is the most impressive and affecting.
There aren’t specific songs on Anything in Return that function as stand-out moments, as much as the whole album functions as one long moment that stands out for its post-modern, semi-nostalgic originality.
Bundick is envisioning a world of pop without the generic connotations of pop music, and overall, it’s a refreshing listen.
Anything in Return has more truly great music than any Toro Y Moi album, but at 52 minutes, the overall impact gets dulled.
For all of its well-intentioned flaws and near-immaculate production, this record hums with a life of its own, confident in the abilities of its creator.
The bombastic pop statements, though well handled, are just not as effortlessly great as the rest, and the endless play of boy girl lyrical scenarios does get a bit tiresome after a while.
Anything To Return is at its best where it showcases pop music rather than making fun of it.
Despite being more immediate than previous work, 'Anything In Return' maintains Chaz's longevity and craftsmanship.
Undoubtedly, Anything in Return shakes off easy definition, but all too often this is because it allows aimless beats to collide in a hazy pop patchwork, leaving something that runs high on atmospherics and low on actual substance.
Try as he might to evolve, reinvent or re-contextualise, Bundick merely thrashes chillwave around within its own rigidly determined parameters.
While Anything in Return might be the most consistent of any of his records up to this point, it lacks the punch to break through.
Return is neither a step up or down from 2010's wave-warping Causers of This or 2011's time-warping Underneath the Pine, yet it's not more of the same.
‘Anything In Return’ is no disaster, but having released three solid yet unremarkable albums in as many years, the lack of any real progression or improvement is making the warning lights flash.
It sounds promising at first, but then it slumps into a bed of mediocrity that Toro y Moi has already proved he is more than capable of avoiding.
Pop music is more than just dance beats and glammy electronics; it’s an attitude, and Bundick might just not have it.
While his third effort is certainly a technically intelligent outing, fun is not high on the priority list.
fantano was so fucking wrong about this album, this is near perfect man, definitely one of the most underrated decade defining albums, chaz is such an underappreciated pioneer and while i respect people getting into his newer work, people really need to check out his older stuff, this is peak chillwave
A really solid indie pop / alt R&B album. The blend of innovative sampling and electronics with great grooves is just awesome on this album. I think the most standout songs for me are Say That, Rose Quartz, and Never Matter. The deeper cuts are definitely a lot more tedious on this album but still pretty decent, just compared to the outstandingly amazing high points they seem kind of rough. But overall, the high points are so high here that it sort of elevates the record as an overall ... read more
1 | Harm in Change 4:01 | 96 |
2 | Say That 4:44 | 92 |
3 | So Many Details 4:45 | 89 |
4 | Rose Quartz 4:13 | 90 |
5 | Touch 2:38 | 84 |
6 | Cola 3:33 | 85 |
7 | Studies 4:02 | 77 |
8 | High Living 4:19 | 79 |
9 | Grown up Calls 3:28 | 85 |
10 | Cake 3:53 | 82 |
11 | Day One 4:17 | 84 |
12 | Never Matter 4:17 | 92 |
13 | How's It Wrong 3:54 | 85 |
#5 | / | Obscure Sound |
#6 | / | Gigwise |
#12 | / | Red Bull |
#22 | / | Complex |
#31 | / | Gorilla vs. Bear |
#35 | / | FasterLouder |
#35 | / | Urban Outfitters |
#92 | / | Amazon |