After teasing us with bits of material under his dance moniker Les Sins since 2010, Chaz Bundick is finally ready to unleash his side-project's first full length, Michael, on his new imprint Company Records, in collaboration with Carpark Records. To say that the wait has been worth it would be a huge understatement; Michael may very well contain the best material Bundick has released throughout his already stellar career.
Abandoning any semblance of chillwave completely, Les Sins portrays a freer, all-embracing and, quite frankly, supremely more fun Bundick. From the Nas-sampling opener "Talk About," a cheeky ode to inane interview questions ("Talk about your newest record…and where did you get the name?"), to the funk- and jazz-indebted "Sticky," everything just clicks. Some of the songs are reminiscent of the looping and sampling Caribou and Four Tet do so well — both name-checked as huge influences by Bundick — and some of the beats are ripe for hip-hop, such as the dark and bass-heavy "Past," with its repeated ominous simple piano keys, straight out of a Kubrick film. The album's sole vocal feature is from Nate Salman on the disco-indebted and previously released "Why," which recalls early Michael Jackson. First single "Bother" is sure to be the working man's anthem for years to come, the lyrics "Don't bother me, can't you see I'm working" repeated in different iterations throughout the track with a chopped sample of people talking in the background, which then suddenly switches gears with a minute-long organ interlude.
The only complaint to be made is how quickly it all ends; the album is far from being exceedingly short at 41 minutes, but it breezes to its end seemingly suddenly. It's okay, though — that's what the repeat button is for.
(Company)Abandoning any semblance of chillwave completely, Les Sins portrays a freer, all-embracing and, quite frankly, supremely more fun Bundick. From the Nas-sampling opener "Talk About," a cheeky ode to inane interview questions ("Talk about your newest record…and where did you get the name?"), to the funk- and jazz-indebted "Sticky," everything just clicks. Some of the songs are reminiscent of the looping and sampling Caribou and Four Tet do so well — both name-checked as huge influences by Bundick — and some of the beats are ripe for hip-hop, such as the dark and bass-heavy "Past," with its repeated ominous simple piano keys, straight out of a Kubrick film. The album's sole vocal feature is from Nate Salman on the disco-indebted and previously released "Why," which recalls early Michael Jackson. First single "Bother" is sure to be the working man's anthem for years to come, the lyrics "Don't bother me, can't you see I'm working" repeated in different iterations throughout the track with a chopped sample of people talking in the background, which then suddenly switches gears with a minute-long organ interlude.
The only complaint to be made is how quickly it all ends; the album is far from being exceedingly short at 41 minutes, but it breezes to its end seemingly suddenly. It's okay, though — that's what the repeat button is for.