Man-lady has returned! Well, not really “returned,” I guess. From my perspective, she has, but that’s only because I’m listening to her releases out of order. A few months back, I noticed that w h o k i l l (tUnE-yArDs’ second record) was receiving a ton of hype. I checked it out for the blog, and fell in love immediately. Merrill Garbus is just so different from everyone else that’s out there right now, in the best way possible. I honestly believe that this is what pop music will sound like in twenty years; we’ll see about that.
Anyway, the point is that BiRd-BrAiNs came first, but I’m checking it out second. Deal with it.
Guess what, Merrill was kicking ass even before the hype set in. This record sounds a little less produced and mastered than her sophomore effort, but other than that, it’s clear that this is the exact same talented, creative musician at work.
This music remains almost impossible to describe; it’s just something that you have to hear for yourself. I have a word count to make, though, so I’ll give a description a shot. It’s a woman with a really deep voice layering anything that comes to mind, from her tribal chants and lyrics, to what I’m pretty sure was a ping pong paddle hitting a ping pong table. Yeah, it’s kinda like that. My description doesn’t do the amazingness of these two records justice, though.
If you like weird music, this is right down your alley. Of course, I think this should be down everybody’s alley, but one night, when I was in the car with the fam, NPR did a little feature on tUnE-yArDs. Everyone else thought that it was the world music show. Shows what I know.
Swole Ear 