Chillwave for Dummies

Last summer you couldn't throw a pitchfork without hitting some highly endorsed beach/surf-infatuated band crafting lo-fi sun-soaked songs in the key of hazy California. Some main offenders included: Surfer Blood, Wavves, Best Coast, Surf City, Pearl Harbor, and Real Estate.

It was essentially an endless parade of like-minded groups that ran the spectrum of intelligently shambolic to -- less palatably -- overly distorted and heavily reductive. How all these groups happened to float to the surface in the span of a few months could only be explained as sub rosa scheming by some hipster Svengali or a classic case of what pop sociologists refer to as 'collective consciousness.' Either way, by the dawn of September, some of these bands released successful albums, and others sank by the seaside. In their wake, meanwhile, there emerged a late-summer electro/shoegaze genre aptly if unfortunately dubbed 'chillwave' -- one that will hopefully keep folk aboard until at least the spring equinox. 

One beacon on this newly-christened scene is Toro Y Moi -- a one-man vessel adroitly helmed by Chad "Chaz" Bundick, a 23-year-old South Carolina native who has been making some big waves over the past six months. Along with his current BFF and fellow USC alumus Ernest Greene (a.k.a Washed Out), the two have become ideal soundtrack providers for those woozy nights and slow-to-recover days.

The key to creating this vibrant new sound, as kindred spirits Neon Indian and Memory Cassette can attest, is to build a strong pop song foundation with production motifs and samples from the late '80s early '90s (see Toro Y Moi's "Low Shoulders"), re-adjust this core helter-skelter, add a backdrop of pulsating bass that surfs in and out, and seamlessly rearrange all these pieces without sacrificing overall warmth and flow. And there you have it: Chillwave for Dummies. 

The debut album from Toro Y Moi, Causers of This, could be big in 2010. Pushed three weeks ahead of schedule (its initial release date was Feb. 23), the record has already been given boatloads of attention from the blogosphere. One of the album's standout tracks "Talamak" even perked the ears of one Kanye West who simply blogged "listen to this good shit" (finally, a man of few words!)

The album treads smoothly from pure pop bliss ("Thanks Vision"), to the contextually more challenging ("Lissoms"), to what could have been a great closer at the Haçienda ("Imprint After"). In the album’s packed 30-minute run-time, there isn't a knob-twist out of a place or moment overworked. In this era of blink-and-you’ll-miss-it new music, you’d be wise to keep an eye on Toro Y Moi and friends. 

Toro Y Moi plays at the Biltmore Cabaret on April 9.