c/o contactmusic.com
Who’s ready for Spring Fling? This dude is, for one. It’s pretty much the moment I’ve been most excited about all semester. Nothing eases the crippling exhaustion of a semester’s worth of work quite like an afternoon of great music (or, obviously, a long-ass nap).
No disrespect to Chance The Rapper, but tUnE-yArDs is the act on this year’s line-up that’s really bringing the heat. And, in what amounts to some kind of rare cosmic event (and an incredible loss for my wallet), tUnE-yArDs is releasing a new album, Nikki Nack, a mere two days before the performance. The album is currently available for streaming on NPR.
The group’s last album, Whokill, was a layered, visceral set of tunes, working like Rube Goldberg machines to build living, breathing, evolving songs. It would seem like almost an impossibility to improve upon the formula (or lack thereof) that made the album such a powerful experience. tUnE-yArD’s, mastermind Merrill Garbus doesn’t try in the slightest to do that. With Nikki Nack, she rounds out the edges of her songs, giving them more fidelity while keeping the punch that makes a song irresistibly tUnE-yArDs.
It’s interesting, then, to find just how infectiously groovy Nikki Nack is. This is hardly to say that Whokill wasn’t an album filled with hooks; tracks like “Doorstep” and “Powa” made it abundantly clear that Garbus knows how to build an earworm. But Nikki Nack also doesn’t have the kind of crunchy, percussion-heavy tracks that truly defined Whokill. Instead, Nikki Nack is defined by its bass-dominated moments, polished and poppy but never losing a spark of sophistication.
I don’t use the term “bass-dominated” lightly: there are some tracks on Nikki Nack that are almost drowning (in the best way possible) in bass. “Wait For A Minute” circles between bass guitar and bass drum, creating an interplay that’s as dynamic as it is catchy. “Stop That Man” is about as close to EDM as tUnE-yArD, is ever going to get, with a throbbing bass drum giving the track its oomph. And the feminist anthem “Manchild” throbs with a wah-heavy bass sound. Everything here is groovy, rounded, and beautifully poppy, surprisingly as suitable for a long ride in the car as it is for a listen.
Thankfully, this smoothness has only made the tracks more infectious; it hasn’t stifled the inherent creativity that’s made Garbus such a musical pioneer in the five years since her debut. “Look Around” is laid-back and glitchy, but never dissonant. Instead, it uses its polyrhythm to build something accessible to the ear but complex in composition. The same could be said of “Rocking Chair”: minimalist in theory but just as infectious thanks to Garbus’ signature howl. Garbus’ vocal technique, here and on every track, gives Nikki Nack the kind of intensity that rewards repeat listens. Even with layered harmonies, throbbing bass lines, and near-electronic drumbeats, there’s something uniquely, powerfully, infectiously experimental about the affair. It’s what makes tUnE-yArDs one of the strongest bands in rock right now.
Nikki Nack is, without question, one of the most engaging and satisfying LPs you’ll listen to in a good long while. Impeccably sequenced and beautifully arranged, it’s an album that’ll start in your ear, move to your brain, make a stop at your heart and then rocket to your feet (or wherever groove lives). Get ready, Wes: Spring Fling is gonna groove the fuck out, and I couldn’t be more excited.