Buy Now
| Buy on |
|
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
Apr 13, 2015All that is certain is What For? is the best one so far, with Bundick really coming into his own as a songwriter, vocalist, and producer.
-
MojoApr 21, 2015The album is a retroactive joy from start to finish. [May 2015, p.92]
-
Apr 15, 2015What For? is slightly less varied than previous releases and exist just add to the gestalt of a ‘rock’ album. Thankfully, though, What For? ends on a high point.
-
Apr 2, 2015A shimmering, optimistic record recalling Stevie Wonder and Brian Wilson, the LP makes for a comparative step back in time, with smooth yet fuzzy basslines, funk breakdowns, clever arrangements and soaring backing vocals.
-
Apr 8, 2015He's far too savvy to stagnate. And as long as he keeps making records like this one--so palatable they might be guilty pleasures were they not so rooted in pristine indiepop--his music will remain relevant.
-
May 7, 2015It’s hard to remember he was once known primarily as a co-founder of chillwave once you’ve emerged dripping from the warm bath of What For?
-
Apr 20, 2015What For? is an ultimately perplexing collection of songs--a mishmash of Bundick’s best and worst musical ideas, but nevertheless a glimpse into an artist who is unafraid to shift into new sonic territory.
-
MagnetApr 15, 2015As an exercise in shimmering, occasionally funky rock, What For? succeeds. [No. 119, p.61]
-
Apr 7, 2015What For? is a bright, sunny chunk of laid-back indie pop; it's Bundick's heaviest use of organic instruments, and it's the best thing he's done in a few years.
-
Apr 7, 2015For all the changes he’s made, his talents are still mostly in the foreground on What For?
-
Apr 6, 2015What For? is a little less varied than his past records, as the repetitive nature of the genre (particularly the lengthy jam outro of "Yeah Right") has a tendency to creep in, but it's an aspect that would have only hindered the record more had it been longer.
-
UncutApr 1, 2015This fourth album owes obvious debts to classical cerebral dream pop. [May 2015, p.83]
-
Apr 1, 2015He’s shown that he can write great songs, albeit not quite as consistently as one would like. Despite that, What For? still contains over twenty minutes of some of the year’s most decadently enjoyable music. A treat.
-
Apr 1, 2015Its high points are so charming you're willing to forgive the occasional low one.
-
Nov 5, 2015The chillwave connoisseur thus delivers according to expectations, creating a short, bubbly experience fit for a fest.
-
Apr 7, 2015Even at its most thrilling, What For? manages to sound somehow too daring and not daring enough.
-
Apr 3, 2015In the absence of the chill-ed out R&B and funk that defined his early sound, Toro y Moi’s newest album just doesn’t stand out from an increasingly crowded field.
-
Apr 7, 2015What For? is so passive it leaves your system the moment you’re done with it.
-
Apr 16, 2015It's not exactly adventurous, but he remains tough to pigeonhole and doesn't sound like he'll be slowing down any time soon.
-
Apr 3, 2015Nothing within the album paves way for the future--instead, it feels like an exercise in honouring the past.
-
Q MagazineApr 1, 2015His fourth record tempers his languid synth wavering with a playful classicism. [May 2015, p.113]
-
Apr 3, 2015It can’t be stressed enough how delightful parts of What For? can be. But something lurks below the surface: The album feels inauthentic and calculated.
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 23 out of 34
-
Mixed: 9 out of 34
-
Negative: 2 out of 34
-
Apr 7, 2015
-
Apr 7, 2015