Bloggers far more knowledgeable about the indie world than I have termed Toro Y Moi's mellow electronica-esque music "chillwave", and even though that's a rather moronic tag, it somehow fits the dreamy pop of Causers of This. Toro Y Moi is a project of The Heist & The Accomplice lead singer Chaz Bundick, and, to my ears, it's definitely the best album to have come out of the lo-fi indie/electronica movement that's sweeping America. While most of Toro Y Moi's peers sound a bit too self-consciously amateurish for my tastes (see: Neon Indian, Memory Tapes, Washed Out), Causer of This is a perfectly realized pop masterpiece. Occasionally psychedelic, occasionally dancey, it's a mellow pastiche of 80's pop songcraft and new millennium eclecticism. At various times, influences from Talking Heads, David Bowie, Michael Jackson, Prince, and even Hall & Oates can be heard, all underpinned by the sort of ambient hip-hop peddled by Boards of Canada and Bibio. A comment on Toro's last.fm page describes this simply as "J Dilla's Haunted Graffiti", and it'd be difficult for me to come up with a more accurate and succinct description than that. "Blessa" is already an underground hit, with its cool Animal Collective-gone-80's vibes, but for me it's the pure magic of "Imprint After" that steals the show, sounding like Thriller-era Michael Jackson tripping on Ambien. Simply put, this is first real masterpiece of the new decade. (Thanks to my girlfriend, by the way, for turning me on to this gem. Fellas - cool girls love this shit. Play it in your car if you want to impress someone.)
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