The eclectic, often absurd pop of New England's Merrill Garbus (stage name tUnE-yArDs ) is as wild and as serious as ever on her third album Nikki Nack.
Having recently opened for Arcade Fire and The National, Tune-Yards likely freaked out audiences who were prepared for an evening easier-to-follow anthems a la"Rebellion (Lies)", but she was actually a sensical choice. Whereas the latter groups integrate exploratory musical concepts into more a conventional rock framework, Tune-Yards' music builds familiar ideas into wondrous, wacky avant-pop compositions. Erratic world music beats propel compressed, lo-fi electronics while Garbus quickly spins silly nursery-style rhymes in her quasi-musical theatre-friendly soprano.
Just when things start to get a little too rainbow-colored, Garbus turns the mood on its head by throwing in references to blood stains, thoughts on overbearing, all-consuming society, and more anxious timbres. The most interesting example is a playful interlude skit called "Why Do We Dine on the Tots" that sounds like a silly story about fried potato bits, but turns out to be commentary on inter-generational wealth inequality in the form of an elderly couple's conversation over a dinner of children. Combined with the album's jogging pace, the music falls somewhere in between drunken escape from and satire of the structural problems of the world around us. From its madcap synth experiments to its title Nikki Nack screams capricious fun. Yet, the music's chaos reflects something closer to fed-up indignation: Garbus's all-over-the-place loud, messy loops call out the world for its dizzying absurdities while the lyrics bring to mind very real and relatable problems like the human costs of economic exploitation.
Impressively, she covers these topics with a strong amount of sincerity and respect. Like a College Democrats kegger, tUnE-yArDs shows us how to have a good time talking about our serious emotions or broken social systems while managing to avoid making distasteful light of things that matter.
Favorite tracks: "Time of Dark", "Look Around", "Left Behind"
Image: Amazon