Toro y Moi’s seventh studio album, MAHAL, is the boldest and most fascinating journey yet from
musical mastermind Chaz Bear. The record spans genre and sound—encompassing the shaggy
psychedelic rock of the 1960s and ‘70s, and the airy sounds of 1990s mod-post-rock—taking
listeners on an auditory expedition, as if they’re riding in the back of Bear’s Filipino jeepney that
adorns the album’s cover. But MAHAL is also an unmistakably Toro y Moi experience, calling back to
previous works while charting a new path forward in a way that only Bear can do.
MAHAL is the latest in an accomplished career for Bear, who’s undoubtedly one of the decade’s
most influential musicians. Since the release of the electronic pop landmark Causers of This in
2009, subsequent records as Toro y Moi have repeatedly shifted the idea of what his sound can be.
But there’s little in Bear’s catalog that will prepare you for the deep-groove excursions on MAHAL,
his most eclectic record to date.
The second the album begins we’re immediately transported into the passenger seat, jeep
sounds and all, ready for the ride Chaz and company have concocted for us. Seeds of some of
MAHAL’s 13 songs date back to the more explicitly rock-oriented What For? from 2015. MAHAL
was mostly completed last year in Bear’s Oakland studio with the involvement of a host of
collaborators, Sofie Royer and Unknown Mortal Orchestra’s Ruban Neilson to Neon Indian’s Alan
Palomo and the Mattson 2.
“I wanted to make a record that featured more musicians on it than any other record of mine,” he
explains. “To have them live on that record feels grounded, bringing a communal perspective to the
table.” As a result, MAHAL is lush and surprising at every turn, from the cool-handed “The Loop,”
which recalls Sly and the Family Stones, to the elastic psych rock of “Foreplay” and the dizzying
Mulatu Astatke-recalling of “Last Year.”
Lyrically, the album zooms in on generational concerns, picking up where the Outer Peace
standout “Freelance” effectively left off. Bear seems to be surveying the ways in which we
connect with technology, media, each other, and what disappears as a result. Cuts like the squishy
“Postman” and “Magazine” take a deep dive into our relationship with media in a changing digital
world. “It’s interesting to see how we adapt to this new age. We’re so connected, but we’re still
missing out on things,” Bear ruminates while discussing the album’s themes.
It’s not all introspection. Bear cools things down near the album’s end with the Mattson
2-featuring “Millennium,” a laid-back jam with tricky guitar licks about ringing in new times even
when everything else seems upside down. “It’s about enjoying the new year, even when it’s been
shitty,” Bear explains. “There’s nothing else to do.” Finding a sense of joy in the face of adversity is
embedded in MAHAL’s DNA, right down to the jeepney that literally and figuratively brings the music
out into the community. “We know that touring is messed up for now, and large gatherings are a
fluke,” he explains. “It’s about the notion of us going out to the people and bringing the record to
them.” And with the wide-open atmosphere of MAHAL, Toro y Moi stands to connect with more
listeners than ever before.
