Johnny Whopper: tune-yards

Super happy about the music on this week's show. I kinda found Farms and Birthdays out of nowhere, and they are making sick tunes. Ditto for somewhat more well-established artists Times New Viking, tUnE-yArDs, and EMA, who are also making next-level shit and have great new albums out (or almost out).

March 24, 2011

tUnE-yArDs

If you've listened to tUnE-yArDs before, through her debut album Bird-Brains, her new single and video "Bizness," or her (allegedly) electric live act, you don't need me to tell you that her new album w h o k i l l (out April 19 on 4AD) is going to be good. But having listened to it virtually nonstop for the past 36 hours, I can tell you that it's amazing. Just the most unbelievable and exciting thing I've listened to in a long while.

The way she - Merrill Garbus - uses her voice (in timbre and melody) is kind of reminiscent of Dave Longstreth from Dirty Projectors, but she doesn't seem as densely preoccupied with the compositional aspects of her songs. That's not to say they aren't excellent compositions; they just seem to come more naturally to her than to Dirty Projectors. And then there's the minor detail that she does all of this by herself. Guitars, percussion, insane vocal multi-tracking, all of it.

Check the link below for the video for her first single, "Bizness," on Pitchfork.tv. I was going to embed it but the code didn't want to cooperate. Also, keep your ears open for the excellent tracks, "Gangsta," "Powa," "You Yes You," and pretty much every song on the album, actually.

Video: tUnE-yArDs - "Bizness" (Pitchfork.tv)