sketchy. is a happier, brighter celebration of garage pop that successfully aims at steering the listener in the right direction during these troubling times. Tune-Yards are sticking to their winning formula of obtuse cut-and-paste pop with a bit more of a hip-hop flare.
Tune-Yards are the wonderful duo of Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner, two of the most iconic forces in indie and garage pop. At least, iconic in my mind! Their catalog is so STACKED with amazing records, from Whokill in 2011 all the way to I can feel you creep into my private life in 2018. If you're not familiar with Tune-Yards, the music is typically layered with cut-and-paste instrumentals and samples, tribal percussion and loops, all over Garbus' distinctly loud (at times) and chaotic vocal delivery. I haven't heard any other band like Tune-Yards to this day; they seem to have a knack for their own unique style and seem to own it with each new record. They also tend to mix it up with each new record too. The band's new album sketchy. (with a period) brings the band back to basics in a way. They flaunt their garage pop tunes that are mostly simple and straightforward. I would argue and say that this is also the band's most hip-hop inspired project yet. Yes hip-hop has always been a noticeably huge inspiration behind the band's instrumentals and performances but I think it becomes more and more evident on sketchy.
Out on 4AD records once again, it's the band's shortest release at roughly 37 minutes and 11 tracks. I think Garbus and Brenner don't overstay their welcome here and that's totally ok. It's just long enough and it doesn't need to be any shorter. The production sounds a bit smoother and cleaner than private life but knowing it's Tune-Yards we're talking about, take that with a tiny, tiny grain of salt. It's still choppy, rough around the edges, obtuse and noisy. And that's for the best really. I don't want to see a super duper clean and polished Tune-Yards... that would be boring! Right off the bat the duo don't play around with "nowhere, man." Except they do in fact play around - it's super bouncy, fun and absolutely wild while promoting feminism and identity. The bass is jumpy, grooves are thick and heavy with Garbus' vocals right into your eardrums. I also love the vintage sounding keys and rougher microphone sound. It has the most memorable line on the record too: "seems like Jesus and Dylan got the whole thing wrong - if you cannot hear a woman then how can you write her song?"
The harmonies on "make it right." over the industrial organic electronic beats are righteous. "hold yourself." and "hypnotized" have the catchiest choruses and melodies, making them perfect for college radio. "homewrecker" is pretty weird to say the least with the deep altered backing vocals but enjoyably odd. The bass grooves on "sometime" are classically old school funk and the harmonies on "under your lip" are super infectious and glorious. "be not afraid." closes the album with an electronically abrasive tune aimed at comforting the audience during these outrageous times. The instrumentals are great and the flow is one solid tune from the next; there is never a lull in the track listing. The tunes themselves are strong but compared to previous releases, these aren't grabbing me as much. Don't get me wrong, Tune-Yards definitely stuck with their winning formula while also kicking some new ideas around in the process. sketchy. is a happier, brighter celebration of garage pop that successfully aims at steering the listener in the right direction during these troubling times.
My Rating: 7 / 10
Favorite Songs: "nowhere, man," "hold yourself.," "hypnotized," "under your lip"
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