TUnE-yArDs is the solo project of singer-songwriter Merrill Garbus. Blessed with a versatile, unpredictable, intriguingly androgynous voice, Garbus is capable of everything from aggressive whimsicality (‘My Country’), soulful syncopation (‘You Yes You’), to surprisingly sincere tenderness (‘Wooly Wolly Gong’). Backing her bold lyricism are lush and ambitious sound collages, profuse blends of impossibly diverse rhythm and texture. Such was the approach on lo-fi debut BiRd-BrAiNs, and the formula is perfected on w h o k i l l, fleshed out with a definite improvement in recording fidelity and studio production.
Snippets of sound dart in and out of the mix, their frenetic speed defying any attempts at identification or classification. The sonic potpourri is certainly jarring at first listen, but the hooks are irresistible, and the complexity invites repeated, devoted listening. Much of the rhythmic underpinning of w h o k i l l is indebted to African influence; this is by no means an original source of inspiration, especially in recent years, but Garbus is extremely effective in her appropriation.
On opener ‘My Country’, she chants over an infectious mix of vocal overlays, tom-tom beats, and piercing synths. tUnE-yArDs excels in the art of tumultuous synthesis, and no track demonstrates this better than album single ‘Bizness’, an incomparable infusion of exuberant sound that contrasts with anguished lyrics (‘I say, I’ll bleed if you ask me, I’ll bleed if you ask me, that’s when, that’s when, he said no’).
The chaotic amalgamations of sound can at times verge on the obnoxious, as in the distorted-ambulance-siren-meets-the-brass-section cacophony of ‘Gangsta’. Such excess makes the touching minimalism of ‘Wooly Wolly Gong’ an all the more welcome respite. The uncompromising idiosyncrasy of w h o k i l l is sure to put some cynics off, but it’s also undoubtedly its greatest asset.
