W h o k i l l
Encyclopedia
w h o k i l l is the second studio release by Merrill Garbus' experimental solo-project tUnE-yArDs
. It was released on 4AD Records on April 19, 2011.
, w h o k i l l relies on heavily layering looped sounds – notably vocals, drums & ukulele – which multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/composer, Garbus, uses to create her richly textured sound.
Unlike the lo-fi BiRd-BrAiNs
, which was self-recorded on a handheld voice recorder, w h o k i l l was recorded in studio, resulting in a fuller and clearer (but sometimes still discordant) sound. It was produced by Garbus and engineered by Eli Crews at New, Improved Studios in Oakland, CA. tUnE-yArDs also fleshed out the line-up to reflect the live shows, adding bass player Nate Brenner, who co-wrote some of the album's songs, and using horns on several tracks.
As evidenced by the album's title, w h o k i l l is concerned with violence in it's many manifestations, including police brutality ("Doorstep", "Riotriot"), neighborhood violence ("Gangsta"), and emotional violence, as on "Powa," where Garbus sings, "you bomb me with life's humiliations every day / you bomb me so many times I never find my way". Garbus is both repelled and fascinated by violence: in "Riotriot," Garbus secretly fantasizes about the police officer who arrests her brother, before declaring "there is a freedom in violence that I don't understand / and like I've never felt before"; and on the final track, "Killa," Garbus declares, "All my violence is here in the sound."
Garbus changed the album's original working title (Women Who Kill) to its final released version as an expression of modern dissonance. The irregular spelling and spacing represents, in her words, "what we get from texting and e-mailing all the time, when nothing is ever exactly right."
, indicating "universal acclaim." It was also listed as "Best New Music" by Pitchfork,
The song "Gangsta" was featured in the TV Shows Weeds
and The Good Wife
.
Tune-Yards
tUnE-yArDs is the music project of New England native Merrill Garbus. When performing live, Garbus creates drum loops on the spot, and layers these with ukulele, voice, and electric bass...
. It was released on 4AD Records on April 19, 2011.
Musical Style
The album is a covers a "formidable range of genres and styles" including acoustic folk, rock, R&B, punk, funk, free jazz & Afro-beat. As on her first album, BiRd-BrAiNsBird-Brains
Bird-Brains is the debut album by experimental-pop musician Merrill Garbus' solo-project tUnE-yArDs. It was originally released on Marriage Records on June 9, 2009, then re-released by 4AD Records on August 17th of the same year as a limited-edition pressing, then finally released worldwide on...
, w h o k i l l relies on heavily layering looped sounds – notably vocals, drums & ukulele – which multi-instrumentalist/vocalist/composer, Garbus, uses to create her richly textured sound.
Unlike the lo-fi BiRd-BrAiNs
Bird-Brains
Bird-Brains is the debut album by experimental-pop musician Merrill Garbus' solo-project tUnE-yArDs. It was originally released on Marriage Records on June 9, 2009, then re-released by 4AD Records on August 17th of the same year as a limited-edition pressing, then finally released worldwide on...
, which was self-recorded on a handheld voice recorder, w h o k i l l was recorded in studio, resulting in a fuller and clearer (but sometimes still discordant) sound. It was produced by Garbus and engineered by Eli Crews at New, Improved Studios in Oakland, CA. tUnE-yArDs also fleshed out the line-up to reflect the live shows, adding bass player Nate Brenner, who co-wrote some of the album's songs, and using horns on several tracks.
Themes
Thematically, w h o k i l l is concerned with "power struggles that arise from inequity and lead to further cruelty and injustice," rooted in issues of privilege around race, gender and class. The album opens with "My Country," "a love-hate anthem" about America, which turns the patriotic song "My Country 'Tis of Thee" on it's head: "My Country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, how come I cannot see my future within your arms?"As evidenced by the album's title, w h o k i l l is concerned with violence in it's many manifestations, including police brutality ("Doorstep", "Riotriot"), neighborhood violence ("Gangsta"), and emotional violence, as on "Powa," where Garbus sings, "you bomb me with life's humiliations every day / you bomb me so many times I never find my way". Garbus is both repelled and fascinated by violence: in "Riotriot," Garbus secretly fantasizes about the police officer who arrests her brother, before declaring "there is a freedom in violence that I don't understand / and like I've never felt before"; and on the final track, "Killa," Garbus declares, "All my violence is here in the sound."
Garbus changed the album's original working title (Women Who Kill) to its final released version as an expression of modern dissonance. The irregular spelling and spacing represents, in her words, "what we get from texting and e-mailing all the time, when nothing is ever exactly right."
Reception
Upon release, the album was met with critical acclaim and very positive reviews. It holds a current score of 86/100 on review-aggregator MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, indicating "universal acclaim." It was also listed as "Best New Music" by Pitchfork,
The song "Gangsta" was featured in the TV Shows Weeds
Weeds (TV series)
Weeds is an American television comedy created by Jenji Kohan and produced by Tilted Productions in association with Lionsgate Television. The central character is Nancy Botwin , a widowed mother of two boys who begins selling marijuana to support her family after her husband dies suddenly of a...
and The Good Wife
The Good Wife
The Good Wife is an American legal drama that premiered on CBS on September 22, 2009. The series was created by Robert King and Michelle King. It stars Julianna Margulies, Christine Baranski, Archie Panjabi, Matt Czuchry and Josh Charles. Executive producers are the Kings, Ridley and Tony Scott,...
.
Track listing
External links
- http://www.4ad.com/tune-yards/ tUnEyArDs at 4AD4AD4AD is a British independent record label that was started in 1979 by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent, funded by Beggars Banquet Records, and is still active today...
- http://www.npr.org/2011/04/17/135443035/tune-yards-expanding-and-grabbing-attention Interview with NPRNPRNPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...