Toro y Moi’s MAHAL is a Warm Laidback Embrace — Album Review

His latest effort explores nostalgia, both as lyrical inspiration and musical influence.

I have a love-hate relationship with lo-fi music.

Chillwave, chill music, lo-fi 24/7 Hip Hop beats to relax and study to, whatever you wanna call it, I’m not too fond of it.

Though I tend to be easily distracted and music playing in the background helps a lot on focus, lo-fi music is ideal and I use it every now and then.

I get that it’s a more pristine and intimate form of music, and even helps with people’s mental health, but at this point, it’s oversaturated the market just as much as EDM in the early 2010s.

But nobody’s complaining about it because it does have a purpose:

For focusing on something else.

It doesn’t stand on its own, at worst it feels too easy or too lazy, and I don’t see music innovating itself when all of it is the intimate background noise that can more lo-fi production be.

Now, this isn’t a good sign to start when talking about the musician who literally pioneered chill wave. With that said…

Chaz Bear, otherwise known as Toro y Moi, is a singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, graphic designer, and just about anything.

He’s a pretty versatile musician who, overtime, explored different styles, but has still retained a pretty mellow consistency across his other side projects as well.

I’m not huge into his first couple records, as it’s where albums like Outer Peace (2018), What For? (2015), and especially the live album Live from Trona where this guy’s musicianship at its finest.

What For? Sees Chaz explore R&B and indie rock, Live from Trona feels simmering and worth sentimental value, Boo Boo is where we see him improve on his chillwave sound with a more psychedelic edge, Outer Peace is like all his songs put on a blender with sleek club-ready synthpop.

Now what about his first record with Dead Oceans, Mahal? In here, we see him with a polished warm embrace of laidback variety.

Mahal is the most emblematic of Chaz’s Filipino heritage, but its influence is more visual than auditory.

The album title means “Love” or “Expensive” depending on context.

Though it may seem vague, this was a more personal album for Chaz, talking about different events scattered in his life.

The symbol that ties the album’s visuals together is the Jeepney, a decorated Filipino vehicle used for commute and long trips, symbolizing both his Filipino heritage and the road trip warmth of this record.

This is quite prevalent on the music videos, where we see him drive around San Francisco with it.

He also has a short film with Eric Andre driving the jeepney.

Musically, Chaz experiments with psychedelic rock and funk blended together with his signature chill aesthetic.

It’s deliberately in this retro style which became the album’s specialty, coupled with the radio samples in between songs that give it a sense of cohesion only an album could serve.

I really appreciate the variety in Mahal. Its not linear and that its energy is naturally scattered, there are still notable and celebratory moments in the record’s end, which always signifies a good album for me.

It sounds fresh, even when it explores more old jazz and soul influences. Perhaps Chaz said it best on Music Tech Magazine:

I’m not romanticising the past;

it’s more about bringing the past with us to the future

Though even with my glowing praises, the second half can get pretty tiring, it felt dreary right until Millennium and Days in Love, though I don’t hate it, really.

I think the radio samples bring a nostalgia factor that undeniably works in the record, but the listening party dudes said it best when it’s a little played out.

Also just a little side note, this is where I heard the album for the first time, a video of stoners on a Mahal listening party released a day before release date.

The Medium with Unknown Mortal Orchestra is this very trippy jam session that opens the album powerfully yet properly also gives way to the rest of the album’s generally calmer mood.

Goes By So Fast opens as this pretty subdued and slurred track after The Medium, with also this sick saxophone feel that gives it a more relaxed ambiance.

The funky drum groove of Magazine next to the subdued keys, Chaz and featured star Salami Rose Joe Louis’ lulling vocals singing about consumerism is a pretty mellow opener.

Postman inevitably rings a bell to The Marvelettes’ classic of the same name, but its very groove that livens the album with a sense of quirkiness.

The Loop goes where Postman left off but more downtempo, as he talks about Mondays and the Rat Race. Overtime, this track grew on me as a modern classic personally.

And oh man then we get to Last Year, which is Chaz’s best vocal performance here. With its doo-wop funk rock intro as warm and intriguing, and then Chaz’s vocals and the harmonies *Chef’s Kiss*

Last Year also has a great example of a radio sample at the end that feels natural and part of the album, very much elevating the song’s austere mood.

Yeah, Mississippi gets even more laid back and relaxed than before, given the bendy instrumentation that can also feel soulful and complex.

The drums from Clarity give off a different flavor, a different, more uneasy vibe like traversing to the jungle, though it’s not entirely coated in the idea, as Chaz and Sofie Royer’s voice calms the song’s essence.

Foreplay is an instrumental without of much note, until Chaz just flat out complains about the heatwave. Yeah I know right it’s so hot.

I’m not too big into Deja Vu, it does feel Beatles-like experimental with the bass and the backwards guitar melodies, and Chaz’s really rides the mood smoothly. It’s one of the few times where it does feel boring.

I don’t know, I guess it’s a grower.

And just like Foreplay, Way Too Hot gives more of an uneasy vibe, with the whiny distorted guitar that gives it more of a dreary feel, not in a way that’s dull, but more of dying in heatstroke.

The album then goes to Millennium which is more layered than I give it credit. It sounds celebratory and cheery rom the guitar to the synths with their own quirkiness, to the “One More!” refrain reminiscent of a disco encore.

Then we get thrust into a psychedelic end credits sequence jam with Days in Love? This is the most sonically psych-rock Mahal delves into, as it returns to the same mood that The Medium explored, now it’s fully realized.

This is an extended version of my album review on my Instagram: The Left Ear with Lee. Be sure to follow me on Medium and on Instagram. Thanks!