One of the great things about Chaz Bundick, the mastermind of Toro Y Moi, is his ability to stay one step ahead of those trying to corner him into a particular genre. On his last record, ‘Anything In Return’, he made some wonderfully chilled but funky music, flirting with disco and funk but never really settling. On ‘What For?’ he does a similar thing, but here the focus is more towards the yacht rock craze that has spiced up down tempo mix albums of late – and yet once again Bundick’s overall style evades capture through some unexpected moves, such as the stop-start funk in Empty Nesters, or the joyous and slightly psychedelic ‘Spell It Out’. On occasion Bundick doesn’t settle enough, giving us some melodies that need to be heard quite a few times before they make their mark, but he’s on to something here, giving music reviewers the run-around as he does so.
4 out of 5
Reviewed by Ben Hogwood
