Toro y Moi - Freaking Out - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

The late great singer and keyboardist, Booker Newberry III started his career as a member of the acclaimed soul group Sweet Thunder which had a hit with InchBaby I Need Your Love TodayInch and a handful of moderately successful albums before embarking on a solo career. Signed to Neil Bogart's Boardwalk tag, Newberry worked on his solo debut with producers Bobby Eli and Nick Martinelli. His song InchLove TownInch became an international hit in 1983. Over the last years of his life (he passed away in 2023) he was working with the renowned Philly Soul producer Butch Ingram, who had been encouraging Booker to record some new music. The resulting tracks they recorded together found Newberry's voice in fine form, sounding as good, if not better than in his heyday. Presented here is a fitting final tribute to Booker - a beautiful performance of the Ingram-penned original InchThere Ain't No Love,Inch sung with deep emotion by Newberry in his unique, characteristic style.

Lowlives isn't so much about carefully stoking the embers as pouring on gasoline with merry impetuosity. Vocalist Lee Downer, drummer Luke Johnson, guitarist Jaxon Moore and bassist Steve Lucarelli, share a love of '90s alternative and grunge, and the desire to make music for little more than the love of doing so. Their debut album Freaking Out arrives imbued with that same spirit, nurtured first through jam sessions at Luke's home studio and later with fledgling adventures on the road. Freaking Out is, above all, the distillation of what Lowlives is truly about. It's rock music to make you fall in love with rock music all over again. InchI thought by now I'd have the answers/Or the power to save my soul,Inch Downer sings on the impassioned InchCloser Than You KnowInch. Lowlives might not hold that key, but it's the spark that he and Johnson have been missing in their lives, and looking for all along. Let it in, and you might find it's the same for you, too.

Hole Erth, Chaz Bear's eighth full-length studio record as Toro yMoi, is the genre shapeshifter's most unexpected and boldmove to date, with Bear diving headlong into rap-rock,Soundcloud rap and Y2K emo. The album blitzes anthemicpop-punk next to autotuned, melancholic rap - two genres thatinform one another now more than ever before - and packs inthe most features ever on a Toro y Moi album.A sense of nostalgia sneaks it's way into almost every Toro y Moirelease, but angst is an emotion that Bear has neverintentionally explored the way he does here. Tracks likeInchTuesday' channel a specific, yet forever-relatable sense ofadolescent unease. A distorted guitar riff leads into a repeatingchorus that conjures misunderstood teenagers singing aloud,maybe too loud, while riding bikes through American suburbs.This foreboding can also be heard on InchHOV,Inch though not withoutpoking some fun with lines like InchRomance is so cold / Myadvice? To bring a coat.InchBear has the energy, but is acutely aware that his energy isn'tforever. At a time when the internet is blending multiple genresinto one at an increasingly rapid pace, Bear accomplishes therare feat of keeping up with the contemporary alternativelistener. Constantly changing, evolving and experimenting is theheart of Toro y Moi, and on Hole Erth Bear challenges but alsoreclaims himself, embracing the myriad sounds and eras thatformed him, while crashing new worlds together.