Music perverts, I think I might have something for you. You, who were left mortally unfulfilled by the blasé debut effort by freak queen Nicki Minaj. You, who expected far, far too much from The Vaccines. You, who’ve found yourself increasingly hungry for a record that’s daringly different – well, you can relax a little, because from now on, w h o k i l l will serve as your breakfast, lunch and dinner.
This 41-minute wonder is the second album by tUnE-yArDs, aka 32-year old New England native Merrill Garbus, who you may or may not know as a loop-happy, ukulele-playing madwoman. In 2009, Garbus stitched together her lo-fi debut BiRd-BrAiNs on a wing and a laptop, and while it was fun, free-spirited and innovative as hell, distracting clatters and crummy production made it too left-field for all but the most adventurous of music-lovers.
tUnE-yArDs’ avidly experimental follow-up is an altogether more polished record, but only because the songs deserve, nay – demand it. It’s difficult to pin down a genre for w h o k i l l (pop? hip hop? world music?), so it’s probably easier if I just mark it down as a marvellous accumulation of impassioned yelps, thrilling false starts and rolling Afro-Carribean rhythms.
Garbus’ booming, androgynous voice puts her in league with a barking cat (along with wonderful artists like Nina Simone and Tracy Chapman, of course), but for all those strung-out melodies, she never sounds threatening or aggressive, just wildly empowered.
‘My Country’ takes one-time American national anthem ‘My Country, ‘Tis Of Thee’ and turns it into an edgy, honking war-cry, while twisted lullaby ‘Wolly Wolly Gong’ manages to be comforting and disturbing at the same time.
‘Riotriot’ has more fire under its heels than any indie anthem of the last few years, while doo-wop ditty ‘Doorstep’ boasts a surprisingly sweet flow. The triumphant ‘Gangsta’ is a perfect example of how a fist-thumping hook works with the quirks, and not against them. First single ‘Bizness’ quite simply deserves a review of its own.
Elsewhere, ‘Powa’ – a sweltering fusion of both facets of Garbus’ voice – is probably best reflective of the dark subject matter on the album, marrying her preferred issues of violence and the female identity.
At a time when Gaga is saying it’s okay to be a freak, MIA is saying it’s okay to take a stand and Adele is staying it’s okay to be hurt, Merrill Garbus is saying it all. For proof, look no further than album closer ‘Killa’, and the lines “I’m a new kinda woman/ I’m a new kinda woman/ I’m a don’t-take-shit-from-me kinda woman”.
You guessed it – this Gangsta means Bizness. And if tUnE-yArDs is pop, w h o k i l l might just be the best pop record of the year.