Les Sins
Michael
COMPANY
6/10
Imagine Air dabbling in house music, and you’ll come close to Michael, the debut album from Les Sins (a.k.a. Toro y Moi mastermind Chaz Bundick). Sure, the project doesn’t have the same multi-genre reach as his main gig (even if many of its tracks could have easily slotted into his 2013 release, Anything in Return), but Bundick endows Les Sins with the same well-crafted care, making Michael a dance album so shiny you can almost see your own reflection in its hypnotic hooks. There’s a dualism running through the release, its tracks almost equally split between dark dance beats (“Bother,” “Minato”) and atmospheric sketches that range from cartoon squeaks (“Sticky”), to hypnotic R&B chants (“Bellow”), to gunfight-inspired lyrics (“Talk About”). But it all ties together with an affable sense of cool. Celebratory and strange, with Michael, Bundick pulls off just about any damn genre he pleases.
