Hole Erth

Sticking to any one kind of sound isnt something Chaz Bundick has ever felt comfortable doing. Under the Toro y Moi banner -- where he made his bones helping to invent chillwave -- and under other guises, hes taken a crack at dream pop, modern funk, psychedelia, jazz, new age, alt-R&B, and country-rock. One thing he hadnt tried yet, despite taking on production gigs for various rappers, was rap. His 2024 album Hole Erth remedies that situation as Bundick and a handful of guests whip up a heady mix of SoundCloud rap, chillwave, dream pop, and emo-y alt-rock that is utterly charming and full of nostalgic delights. As he usually does no matter what style he attempts, Bundick proves up to the task of creating a record that doesnt only capture the essence of the sound, it sounds like the best possible example. Not that a ton of people are making records with songs like "Reseda," which matches heavily processed shoegaze guitars with thundering prog drums, a loping trap loop, an emo-punk bassline, and a vocal melody borrowed from late-period Weezer. Plus rapping, yet another skill that Bundick has tucked away in his toolbox. The record is peppered with these kind of genre collisions that somehow dont sound stitched together in desperation but rather feel very natural and relaxed. Tracks like "HOV," which conjures up a nocturnal meeting between hardcore rap and ambient pop, or "Smoke," which singlehandedly invents the folk trap genre, probably shouldnt work. They do, though, thanks to Bundicks wizardry and his rap persona, which is very fuzzy around the edges, backward looking, and not tough at all as he drifts through the songs like the chill, sad dude Drake wishes he was. Along with the aforementioned genre smashes and amalgamated songs like "Heaven," a beautiful trap/R&B/bedroom pop ballad, that sound like newly created genres, there are also a handful of tracks that stick closely to the late-night trap template, and these come across really well too. The Don Toliver feature "Madonna" is smooth fun, the two of them trading Auto-Tuned verses back and forth, as is "Babydaddy," another track that Drake will probably steal shortly after he hears it. Hole Erth is definitely something of a departure for Toro y Moi and Bundick as hes never sounded quite as modern and rap friendly as this. Unsurprisingly to anyone who has been following him since the beginning, Bundick handles the shift with sure-handed aplomb, and everything he tries works out perfectly. As usual. ~ Tim Sendra

トロ・イ・モワ史上もっとも客演が多くなった8作目。ドン・トリヴァーを迎えた物憂いヒップホップ"Madonna"やシューゲイザー的ギターとトラップ・ビートを組み合わせた"Reseda"、またエモやポップ・パンクなども迂回するなど、さまざまに想定外のルートを進んでいく。が、スタイルの進化と先鋭化が同一線上で行われ、従来よりも跳躍高のある作品になっているのが見事。
bounce (C)桑原シロー