tUnE-yArDs – w h o k i l l
May 4th, 2011 § 1 Comment
When you have someone with the creativity of Merrill Garbus her first two albums hit you like a one-two punch. While Bird-brains was originally indepedent – raw, recorded as simply as possible, but still with incredible song-structure and vocal performances, w h o k i l l sounds a bit more like someone who’s been practicing the sweet science.
As opposed to tiny apartment based recording in Montreal, Garbus has the full force of her label 4AD behind her with New, Improved Studios at her disposal. Having a proper studio gives her the proper technology to really explore her vocal range – from the soft innocent beginning of “Powa” to the full-throated Caribbean howl at the moon she’s capable of producing.
We still have the loops, experimental sounds, ukulele, and original song structures that made the first album such a success. This isn’t a commercial album, but rather an artist who really has the full range of gear to best express herself. The lyrics range from personal to political, with a bit less whimsy than her first outing. Some of this may be due to the influence of her new bassist and bandmate Nate Brenner, who co-wrote a few of the songs.
Strange, wonderful, and endlessly listenable, I’m sure this album will only propel Tune-yards on to greater success.
Nice. That’s my style.