tUnE-yArDs: BiRd-BrAiNs
Label: 4AD
It’s rare that an album manages to sound home-recorded and powerfully direct at once, but this debut by Merrill Garbus confidently straddles that line. Starting with a central pendulum beat, Garbus gracefully builds and deconstructs scratchy, stuttering instrumentals while her soulful alto pumps, swings and yodels through the spaces she’s created. A teenaged, K Records-obsessed version of Sia sometimes comes to mind, or Juana Molina having a crisis of faith in the garden shed. Sound quality may be sacrificed for freshness here, but it’s a very fair trade. (Abby)
