April 29, 2022 - Dead Oceans
We really can’t get enough of the 1970s. Look at Southern California. Professional eclectic Toro y Moi’s MAHAL is a psychedelic ode to the times of sex, drugs, and rock-n-rolled up inside of a fractal. With influences of funk, Pink Floyd, muscle cars, and Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, it’s really, really fun, with only an occasional signal that we still exist in the now and we haven’t actually traveled back in time (a kindness really, in anticipation of the comedown when the album is finished). Spacey chords lift us off into a hazey wonderland, Bear Bundick’s voice is lighthearted and often sounds a little far away like old analog recordings, goofy guitar and flute riffs soar off in the winds around us while we rest in the expert hands of Budnick and his harvest of collabs with industry giants. To listen is to embrace a sweeter vision of day-to-day life, to see culture once again through rose-colored glasses, to augment reality and remember it’s not all bad. Highlights include the funky punchline of ‘Postman,’ the dreamy guitars in ‘Déjà Vu,’ the weird wobbly groove of ‘The Medium,’ which reprises later in the album because (yes) it feels that good, and the sweetest chaser ‘Days in Love.’ Let the good times roll. Escape we can and escape we must. Entering the flow state, we ride. ☔