<p><span><span>- If <strong>Merrill Garbus</strong>’ last record went into a hi-fi dancefloor place, then the new long player, <em>sketchy</em>, comes out swinging with a return to the lo-fi grittiness that marked so much of her first breakthrough outing <em>Whokill</em> back in 2011. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Choppy noise-bursts, hard-panned crinkly sound design elements, overdriven vocals and dusty drum-breaks. Tune-Yards uses a derezed indie noise palette as a feint to underplay just how structurally talented a songwriter she is.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>All the signature arrangement techniques are on display here. The soul-choir vocal layering, bold horn arrangements that emerge so seemingly natural, her excellent grip on textural contrast and dynamics, and all underpinned by the subtly technical and funky bass work of long-time collaborator <strong>Nate Brenner</strong>. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Sidebar: can we take a second to acknowledge how Tune-Yards is the only writer who seems to be able to use 8-bit chip tune synth sounds without it becoming gameboy music. Also, what about how she effortlessly pushes chromaticism and atonality into some of the catchiest hooks ever?</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Tune-Yards crams all the restless experimentalism of <strong>St. Vincent</strong> or <strong>David Byrne</strong> into something seductive and convincing. It’s weirdo-pop at its most deceptively appealing: more-ish and clever and catchy as hell all at once. I know it’s only April, but get ready for this to be on some end-of-year lists. Anthemic numbers like <em>Hold Yourself</em> and <em>My Neighbour</em> are about as zeitgeist-y a pair of songs as 2021 are likely to produce.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>It’s a quirky, sometimes dark, but ultimately hopeful picture of the world that Tune-Yards paints on this latest offering and it shows an artists at the height of her powers with plenty to say. It’s a cracker, get around it.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- Kieran Ruffles.</span></span></p>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=1887060290/size=large/bgcol=f…; seamless><a href="https://tune-yards.bandcamp.com/album/sketchy">sketchy. by Tune-Yards</a></iframe>