Staff Reviews

Tune-Yards - BiRd-BrAiNs

Review by n

On this record, Merril Garbus manages the impressive feat of condensing much of the decade’s more interesting musical trends into one very well delivered tapestry.»

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heavyweight 180 gram vinyl with a poster and housed in a high quality flapped pvc bag. 'bird-brains' started as a pay what you want release on www.tune-yards.com and now has been picked up by 4ad. merrill garbus, the one woman force behind tune-yards, recorded her debut album 'bird-brains' at essentially zero cost to herself: using a laptop with free software and voice recorder that were both gifts. on the album you can hear african chants, merrill's oft-picked ukulele, stolen drum beats, a free spirit, electronics, a shapeshifting voice and unique yet instantly accessible pop music. it comes across like a self-contained sublime frequencies compilation, jumping between blues, african tunes, shiny reggae-esque sprawls, and lo-fi folk, infusing the worldly sonic palette of mia, or post-punk pioneers the raincoats. the album ranges from the surreal to the sublime, with 'lions' - halfway between a singsong schoolyard rhyme and a graveyard blues whilst 'jamaican' could be the blueprint to a timbaland-produced gem with it's ricocheting drums pattern and intoxicating tape loops. an intimate yet powerful album that is a must own for fans of micachu, animal collective etc.
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