#8 on the 2021 Bacon Top 31 — tUnE-yArDs
sketchy. by tUnE-yArDs
The artist here at #8 is not new to the Top 31, but I did not expect them to be here. tUnE-yArDs, the Oakland, CA duo, have releasing music together since 2009, and I love their first three albums. BiRd-BrAiNs, their 2009 debut, did not make the inaugural Top 31 — but that was no fault of their own. I didn’t hear the album in time, and have grown to love it since. Their second and third albums both landed in the Top 10 (w h o k i l l #4 in 2011 and Nicky Nack #6 in 2014).
I was impressed with their originality. I wrote in my 2011 review “using loops of [Merrill Garbus’s] powerful voice along with other analog sounds to create electronic beats/rhythms/melodies…culminating in a cacophony of sounds that are vaguely African in origin.” They found a sound totally unique and unmistakable, infectious and groovy. But after three albums of greatness, the uniqueness had started to wear thin. By the time their fourth album, I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life, came out in 2018, I just couldn’t get into it, and I promptly put it down and never picked it up again.
When sketchy., their fifth album, came out in March, I felt a sense of duty to listen to the album, but the first time through it failed to hook me. I put it down. And likely would have not picked it up again were it not for a friend praising the album on social media. I engaged him in conversation, questioned his taste, and he implored me to give it another go. I’m so glad I did.
sketchy. (yes, it’s annoyingly styled that way, lowercase with a period. They style the band name as “tUnE-yArDs,” so I guess I’ll indulge them on the album name styling as well) is a return to form for Garbus and her musical partner Nate Brenner. Check out “hypnotized” in the video above, as well as the endlessly catchy “nowhere, man“. Much like the Low album at #10, this music can sound abrasive and difficult. But if it’s too much, perhaps “hold yourself.” is more your speed. It’s slower, more subdued, but still every bit Garbus and Brenner.
Do what you can to rise above the noise, and hear the whole of what’s being presented to you. I think you’ll find yourself pleasantly surprised.
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9. A Very Lonely Solstice by Fleet Foxes
10. Hey What by Low
11. Local Valley by José González
12. Head of Roses by Flock of Dimes
13. The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows by Damon Albarn
14. Collapsed in Sunbeams by Arlo Parks
15. Loving In Stereo by Jungle
16. Flying Dream 1 by Elbow
17. Screen Violence by Chvrches
18. Blue Weekend by Wolf Alice
19. Mainly Gestalt Pornography by Pearly Gate Music
20. Peace Or Love by Kings of Convenience
21. These 13 by Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird
22. Mr. Corman: Season 1 by Nathan Johnson
23. Home Video by Lucy Dacus
24. I’ll Be Your Mirror: A Tribute to The Velvet Underground & Nico by Various Artists
25. Siamese Dream by Fruit Bats
26. NINE by Sault
27. Observatory by Aeon Station
28. The Monster Who Hated Pennsylvania by Damien Jurado
29. A Beginner’s Mind by Sufjan Stevens and Angelo De Augustine
30. Where the End Begins by Knathan Ryan
31. Private Space by Durand Jones & The Indications
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