Toro y Moi review – chillwave grandee takes deep dive into his discography

Despite his worldwide cult following, a Toro y Moi appearance in the UK is rare. Tonight is the California-based musician’s third London gig in seven years, and the first since the pandemic. In his own words: “It’s been a long-ass time.” In the space between, he has released two studio albums, both forging tangents from the chillwave subgenre he was first associated with, into indie rock, contemporary rap, trap and left-field disco.

Toro y Moi, real name Chaz Bear, opens with the warm, psychedelic, funky tones of his latest record, Mahal. Swampy synths soak through waved-out guitars and occasional shredding, before the groovy Postman rouses the crowd to sing along. Paired with the kaleidoscopic lighting, the sounds bring a surprising cosiness to the vast interior of the church of St John-at-Hackney.

Unlike the record, which leans into a mixtape form with interludes littered between songs, the breaks between tracks tonight are initially pronounced with sharp endings, emphasised by the lights snapping out. But the clearcut finishes soon disappear as the show moves towards more clubby terrain, namely the filtered dance music of the mid-to-late 2010s: the drum machine slinks from one song into the next with ease, while looped backup vocals swirl behind Bear’s. A heartwarming, Auto-Tuned rendition of Daft Punk’s Doin’ It Right slips right into the beat of his 2017 single Girl Like You.

At one point, Bear joins his bandmates and hops behind a synthesiser, and the scene exudes the intimacy and playfulness of a late night studio jam with friends. It can verge on cheesy at times: “Who cares about the party?/I came to see the band play!” he chants over the anthemic Who I Am, obscured by flashing blue and red lights. But the heartfelt delivery and rowdy response from the crowd makes the moment feel endearing rather than dated: his tour through nostalgic sounds gives everyone their own sense of homecoming.