Toro y Moi – “June 2009″
By: Alex Peacock
Toro y Moi’s newest installment in their discography, June 2009 is just another feature of the variation this band has reached at this point in their career. With a sound all to similar yet ever so different, the band is growing and mastering new facets of music and tones they can use to portray that same feeling of groovy-ness and chillness.
At first, listening to the album makes me become totally reminiscent to a sound accustomed to Beach Fossils, a rustic, gritty beach rock that pulls the listener in with their mix of crisp and fuzzy sounds. The album easily jams to the simple melodic style this type of music has, and becomes all the more distinct through varied tempo change and style change, which is obviously another trait of Toro y Moi, taking a basic formula and then changing it ever so slightly to make it more their own and distinct.
Yet, the album transitions so perfectly into a style very much perfected by Toro, with the familiar techno beats fused with funky lead vocals and guitar rifts, which is flagrant in their previous work Underneath the Pine. The song Drive South is by far the best example of this style becoming prevalent in this album, with it being very distinctive and reminiscent of this style.
Even his beginning styles from Causers of This make an appearance into this work, with the song “Sad Sams” a prime example of his previous emphasis in his music on techno beats and sounds being used the most. That song plus the re-released track from that album “Talamak” both show how even though his preference in style varies from time to time, whichever style they chooses to do, they do it very well and to the best of their ability.
With another album down, Toro y Moi looks to be in great shape. Having developed their own sound, while adjusting and changing it as they progress, they’ve successfully been able to become experienced in not only one type of music but many. This band is slowly solidifying themselves as musicians, and after this installment I’m very excited to see where the road takes them musical choices wise.
9/10
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