Welcome back to week three of the Spotlight On Blog's Three Weeks Of Toro y Moi Albums Event. That's what it's called I just decided. Two Tuesdays ago, for its birthday, we started things off with MAHAL, the act's latest outing. Then we took it back to Soul Trash, a mixtape I saw as a bridge between mainline Toro projects. And this week, we put the Spotlight On Blog's Three Weeks Of Toro y Moi Albums Event to rest with Outer Peace, my um, least favorite of Chaz Bear's canon.
I don't know about this one guys! Outer Peace has been described by my dad (and this blog's Supreme Leader) as "silly", "goofy", and "not really grabbing me." Maybe he just doesn't get it. I'm willing to accept the Supreme Wizard's judgement as fallible, and I do think the album grew on me. But because I'm not particularly rebellious, I gotta agree it's inconsistent and maybe even... patchy. Which my dad's also been described as.
I do like all ten tracks on Outer Peace (its brevity also helps contribute to it feeling underwhelming), but whiplash from its rapid-clip vibe-switches stops a real steady mood from setting in, and the shorter tracks make my ears start to glaze over. I don't know if that's something ears can do, or what it would look like if they could, but "Laws of the Universe" to "Miss Me" is still brutal. And "Baby Drive It Down" is boring. Nine out of ten tracks here are good. At least the production stays squishy, and I dig the ways Chaz changes up his vocal tricks. If Soul Trash gets a pass for being all over the place and MAHAL actually pulls it together, Outer Peace is carried juuust enough by its manic-depressive energy to not be a miss. I guess. My closing Toro y Moi take is that Outer Peace is, uh, pretty good. Cool. Another week in the cabin might have helped.
