Album Review: tUnE-yArDs' "W H O K I L L"

KHOL loves music lovers. So when Chad Reich of Crested Butte’s community radio station, KBUT, reviewed tUnE-yArD’s new album, we were more than psyched to show it some love here. Thanks so much, Chad!

tUnE-yArDs
W H O K I L L

Upon reading the title, with its pre-teen computer hacker capitalization, Merrill Garbus already has your attention. I mean, NO ONE writes like that anymore. From what I can recall from the tUnE-yArDs previous release Bird-Brains, I couldn’t hear the vocals very well, and therefore chose to listen to another record with words that someone wanted me to hear. So I’m skeptical…..

Out of the blocks I’m hearing an updated version of Kevin Blechdom’s singer / songwriter / experimental programmer mix of noise, folk, hip hop and R&B. “My Country,” the opener on w h o k i l l features heavy drums with some quirky samples, but the beat is not as broken as you’d hear on an older MIA record. On “Gangsta,” the beat is bouncy and playful, but more of an inner-city playful, where having fun means watching your back. Merrill gives a little warning “Bang bang bang / never move to my hood / cause danger is crawling out the wood.” If you’re stepping, don’t come around, because Merrill can make music out of EVERYTHING. “Powa” is a well-constructed, tweed-up indie ballad, frankly unlike anything else on this record, which makes it a great fit and shows some versatility of Merrill as a songwriter. “Doorstep” is a wacky yet sensible mix of snares, Spector-era girl group pop vocals, an addictively gorgeous choral backing, 80′s style R&B interludes and a drumline reminiscent of Tortoise’s John McEntire. You get the drift, a lot is going on here. “You Yes You” sounds like a tropicalia-leaning Talking Heads song, straight up. And we end on “Killa,” which seems like a collage of all the best this record has to offer – a funky bassline, bright, crips poppy vocals, and a big statement: “I’m a new kind of woman / I’m a new kind of killa.”

This is an impressive record, with strings of great songs punctuated by something completely different. Jazzy breakdowns balance well with abrasive but not offensive beats. On w h o k i l l Merrill Garbus shows a great deal of versatility as a programmer, singer and musician. She’s becoming songwriter without a guitar or piano. I’d recommend this to fans of the Dirty Projectors, Kevin Blechdom / Blectum from Blechdom, Talking Heads, and M.I.A.

- Chad Reich, Program Director at KBUT