Toro Y Moi - Causers Of This

One of 2009's dubious legacies will be the introduction of "chillwave" to the musical lexicon. The sound we actually rather enjoy, but such an off-putting appellation seems to dull its otherwise promising potential. Gotta call it something, though. Not really a subgenre, it exists in the venn-diagram-like space formed by the overlap of several genres including lo-fi rock, Italo disco, post-autotune RnB, Animal Collective-style "freak folk," and chopped and screwed hip-hop. A "chillwave" release can often be identified by a combination of samples and live instrumentation, atmospheric textures, sluggish tempo, megatons of reverb and delay, and blurry photographs. South Carolina's one-man band Toro Y Moi fits the bill perfectly right down to his blurry blog, and his forthcoming debut Causers Of This joins critically lauded releases by Neon Indian and fellow South Carolinian Washed Out as one of the chillest and waviest.

The album release/bio cites Animal Collective, My Bloody Valentine and late hip-hop producer J Dilla as influences, and much about the album can be deduced  from that trifecta. Many of the tracks sound like Dilla's stuttering, pitch-bending beats processed through a string of guitar pedals, and Chaz Bundick's high tenor delivery is a close cousin of Animal Collective's, repleat with "whoop"s. But it is unfair to a good album to be so reductive. Causers of This deserves to stand/sit/swim on its own and be appreciated for the lush, trippy haze-scapes it comprises. Video for lead single "Blessa" after the jump.

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Toro Y Moi - Minors (From Causers Of This)

Video: Toro Y Moi - Blessa (From Causers Of This)