Outer Peace
| Toro y Moi
Outer Peace
Outer Peace is the sixth studio album by American musician Toro y Moi, released on January 18, 2019, through Carpark Records. The tracks "Freelance" and "Ordinary Pleasure" were released prior to the album. On January 10, the album became available to stream in full via NPR's website. - Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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NME
An intriguing and haphazard dive through history, this sixth album from the former chillwave don is fitfully inspired, but lacks a cohesive sonic identity
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Pitchfork
Chaz Bear delivers a smartly crafted, comfortably mid-fi album of grooves and melancholy—it’s one of his best albums in years.
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DJ Booth
Peace is a brisk album that finds the silver linings threading the analog and digital worlds and stretches them to widescreen. But most importantly, it’s a stoooooone groove, baby.
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NPR
At roughly half an hour, the worlds inside Outer Peace provide worthy terrain in which to get lost.
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Pop Matters
Outer Peace is the work of a veteran producer and as such it's tempting to gloss over technical proficiency in search of something transcendent.
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Slant magazine
The album’s title represents the remarkable possibility of finding freedom from the outside world by letting loose on the dance floor and experiencing liberation in a crowd of strangers.
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Crack Magazine
Ultimately strikes a cool balance between playfulness and pensivity, the energy of youth and the calm of adulthood, and introspection that avoids becoming too morose or cynical.
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Spin
Blissed-out energy in waves of technicolor funk, R&B, and synth pop.
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The Gaurdian
Best-ever songs, with lip-smacking exactitude to his steadily rapped verses; with his voice pitched up to a girl-like tenor.
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The Line of Best Fit
Ultimately though, Chaz Bear’s decision to take himself less seriously is an experiment to be considered broadly successful and sees the release of some of his more inspired and infectious material in years.
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The Young Folks
This sees Chaz playing to his strengths, those being fusing different genres and blending them seamlessly together. For this, he uses elements of house, disco, and future-funk. In many ways, this is one of the most rewarding releases that Toro y Moi has put out.
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Loud and Quiet
It is a brisk, enjoyable half-hour romp of a record that tours through modes and styles, albeit with one conspicuous absentee: the very specific trend with which Toro Y Moi will be forever undivorceably associated.
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Beat Route
At times you can hear the presence of xylophone. Outer Peace is unpredictable, groovy and original.
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Clash Music
The moments of nu-disco are superb, yet are weighed down by the sometimes-cringey segments of auto-crooning. Fortunately, it wouldn’t be surprising if the next project will see Toro in another different sonic ballpark.
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DIY Magazine
Chaz is there to guide the listener through new territories. A transitional work perhaps, but whichever fork in the road he follows next, you feel he’ll continue to adapt.
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WRBB
But if you find yourself looking for an album to enjoy from start to finish once you’re back home, I suggest you give Outer Peace a spin and enjoy an indie legend’s nearly-perfect 7th studio effort.
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Immortal Reviews
It’s almost like you can interact with the music with how full of life it is. The funky, infectious bassline in ‘Ordinary Pleasure‘ adds a fun and daring color to the record.
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KTSW
The album is simply one of Bear’s best, and is a product of an evolving world and Bear evolving with it.
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Northern Transmissions
With Bundick’s smooth but unhinged delivery, he sings to all the people creating beauty while being seen as lesser-than.
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The Sentry
Don’t fall victim to disposable culture. Instead, listen to each element. Feel every verse. There’s more than just what’s on the surface.
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COOG Radio
A quintessential album of how you make a complete album with no fillers just straight to the point. After leaving a year of albums full of fillers or in consistent album, this album was definitely a refresher.
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Glide Magazine
The songs here are largely fun and accessible, but contain hidden depths that encourage repeated listens; and that in itself is a testament to Toro Y Moi’s staying power and ability to find new ways of expressing himself.
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Medium
It’s a pleasant breeze of a time and recommend a listen or two.
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The National Student
It’s a total jam with a cheeky reference to LCD Soundsystem in “James Murphy is spinning at my house.”
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Bleached Magazine
As Bear expresses his own sentiment about being a musician, he is simultaneously speaking about what could be seen as the fate of all artists in a digital age. Outer Peace speaks to heightened anxiety in the modern world and the feeling of wanting to escape and find peace outside of all of the noise.
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Sputnik Music
The highlights on here are incredibly fun and quirky and contain some of the most original ideas.
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Kefwhat?!
Toro y Moi did it again by motivating us on this album that life is hard and we must keep going anthems. We cannot wait to see what Chaz has up his sleeves next already!
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Hot New Hip Hop
Toro Y Moi holds down the majority of the project on his own but he does tap Abra, Wet, and Instupendo for some assistance on the project.
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High Snobiety
Depending on the setting, could be categorized as an album of tasteful chill music, playlist filler, or music to soundtrack a sun-drenched rooftop party.
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The Wee Review
Well in our opinion, this experiment turned out pretty sick. We’re totally here for it.
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The Skinny UK
Chock-full of gluey basslines and gleaming synths, Outer Peace is very much a dance record and it's pure ecstasy
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The Edge
A slick, terse album of funk licks and chillwave nostalgia, Toro Y Moi’s latest is a laid-back, compact experience that delights in its own retro-fetishist kleptomania.
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Commedia PSU
Outer Peace is his best work yet, as he has created this vibrant yet funky sound that gives someone those great summer vibes!
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YR Media
He takes pop music and put his own spin on it, and just like the rest of the tracks on the album, it turned out to be very rewarding.
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The 405
One eye on nostalgia, a summery feel and a pop sensibility. All are abundantly evident on Outer Peace, with just a dash of added funk and R&B.
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Spectrum Culture
Exudes the breezy warmth that brings to mind some of the most joyous electro-pop of the ‘00s and ‘10s.
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High Clouds
A late-2010s version of a 70s funk album.
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Treblezine
Continues that Prince/Bowie shapeshifting chameleon character that Bundick been chiseling at since 2010. Eat your heart out Animal Collective, those chops don’t come with the 808 sample pack.
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Positively Underground
Whether fans will hear Bear getting comfortable or “reinventing himself,” I can’t tell you, but I will say that without wielding any jaw-dropping risks, the work remains rife with personality as the recording wizz continues to build his world and splash in some new colors.
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Ear Buddy
Because it’s so good. “New House” is one of those songs that sneaks up on you, and its perfect placement in the album’s middle keeps you listening for what comes next.
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God is in the TV
A feat of modern pop music that Toro Y Moi should be incredibly happy with. It brings together what could easily be – if crafted by the wrong hands – disparate musical elements, and combines them to make something playful, intriguing and unusually intellectual.
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Mystic Sons
It may not gel as well in places during its brief 30-minute runtime, but still packs in a wide range of toe-tapping, funk-fused belters to get your head turning.
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Collator
Chaz just wanted you to feel at home, even if you’re not. So come in (or out) this record: Outer Peace is the new Inner Peace.
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WPTS
Let’s play a Toro y Moi drinking game. There’s only one rule. Every time there’s a ~chill vibe~ take a sip. After about 5 songs you’re going to be passed out on the floor with one sock on wearing glasses that aren’t yours.
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34th Street
May just be Toro y Moi’s most relatable work yet, as a testament to the search for happiness and contentment in a world of competition, insecurity, and hesitance. And for that, Toro y Moi’s latest album certainly feels like a step towards inner peace.
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Stereogum
A breezy, fun record that never takes itself too seriously.
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Sungenre
The record assures us still of Toro y Moi’s ability to shine, but there is no doubt some unnecessary excess.
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Stack AU
A master of mixing emotion and motion. His futuristic pop songs are finely tuned, engineered for maximum impact in any context: dancefloor abandon or reflective home listening.
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The Fresh Committee
In spite of a few kinks here and there, Outer Peace is worth your time. This release is care-free and fluid.
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Viberant
A multitude of genres from the aforementioned synthpop all the way through to house and R&B make Outer Peace the first addictive project of the year.
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The Indiecator
There’s a step into dance music for those who prefer funky beats and a livelier sound, a generous helping of R&B and hip-hop for those who liked Boo Boo and Samantha, and even some throwbacks to chillwave for those who yearn for the Toro y Moi of years past.
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High Note Blog
Chaz Bear boldly pushes the limits of his and the listeners’ imaginations on each of his projects and “Outer Peace” is just the latest outlet that can’t contain his creative genius.
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Jack Central
The ability to merge the best sounds of the past five decades with his own unique style to produce a project that can be enjoyed by all.
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Yahoo Finance
Finds Toro Y Moi mastermind Chaz Bear taking his sound in a funky new direction. A number of collaborators assisted him in “music for a creative mind,” including WET (“Monte Carlo”), ABRA (“Miss Me”), and Instupendo (“50-50”).
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Uproxx
This album was a homecoming of sorts for Bear. He recorded this album after returning to his hometown in the Bay Area, after living in Portland for the last year. Bear holds up most of the songs on the 10-track album alone, but he brings in a few friends to feature such as ABRA, Wet, and Instupendo.
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WXOU
This album is a very interesting blend of disco sounds and contemporary electronic and hip hop sounds. Chaz is a prolific and passionate producer and he poured some novel ideas into this record. Ultimately, though, it did end up being a bit forgettable, but it is definitely worth listening to.
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Album Analysis
There was nothing significantly terrible to point to as a consistent negative, but it was rather just one overall letdown of a work that used too many anticipated techniques and had little captivation in its main area of focus.
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MXDWN
Toro y Moi already has a near-prolific output, and Outer Peace is a fine addition to his discography. Give it a listen on a starry night.
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Relix
Even as he continues the cycle of looking inward and creating outward, Bear still mines his past for inspiration.
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Urban Flaiire
Chaz showcasing his versatility by welding the worlds of hip hop and R&B with his signature funky chillwave backbone. The result is audio bliss.
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Mic Drop Music
Toro y Moi has been a consistent figure in the underground scene for the past few years but this project has the sound of a pop album and it has the chance to take him into superstar status.
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