http://www.npr.org/2014/04/25/306543443/first-listen-tune-yards-nikki-nack

Album in stores on May 5 in the UK and May 6 in the U.S. via 4AD

definitely need more focused listening. but one thing that stood out, was that there weren't as many vocal dynamics. so much more of it seemed to have her at full tilt.

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Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." © Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

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Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." © Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

Some of the vocals sound like music from sesame street. She's dope but I can only take her in small doses.

I've listened straight through a few times, but mostly I've been jumping around to key tracks. Water Fountain, Real Thing, Wait for a Minute, Left Behind, and Find a New Way are all getting steady play from me.

I feel like the album is a bit more developed in terms of composition - but that's just a first impression. If anything she's grown more on the lyric front: the first verse of Real Thing is *ridiculous* ... "I come from the land of slaves/let's go Redskins, let's go Braves"

Not sure that it topped whokill, but that would have been tough no matter what. Still, definitely an album to hang out with for a while.


-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

So strong I can ignore her complaints about stardom (my biggest pet peeve when it comes to lyric writing).

The arrangements and composition are really well developed, *BUT* and this is a huge but for me, I fucking can't stand all the digital sounds. They stand out like a sore thumb for me because they don't mix well with the other sounds going on. It becomes really distracting at points, especially the use of digital noise. Then there's that one VST synth that pops up a few times on the album. It's just so bothersome to me. I'm sure nobody else gives a fuck but would I be me otherwise?

█▆▇▅▇█▇▆▄▁▃
Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." © Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

>So strong I can ignore her complaints about stardom (my
>biggest pet peeve when it comes to lyric writing).

Mine too - I actually didn't notice this though, but I find myself zooming in and out with her in terms of lyrics... I catch snippets that only gradually come together as complete songs. So probably haven't caught those snippets yet

>The arrangements and composition are really well developed,
>*BUT* and this is a huge but for me, I fucking can't stand all
>the digital sounds. They stand out like a sore thumb for me
>because they don't mix well with the other sounds going on.
>It becomes really distracting at points, especially the use of
>digital noise. Then there's that one VST synth that pops up a
>few times on the album. It's just so bothersome to me. I'm
>sure nobody else gives a fuck but would I be me otherwise?

Completely agreed. And I might be remembering wrong - don't have the record/tracklist in front of me - but I feel like it gets more synth heavy as it goes on, which may be part of why I've driven the first half into the ground (water fountain gets stuck in your head for days) and feel like I've barely worked on the second half at all...

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

is she not white? A lot of the perspectives she presents seem to come from a non-white perspective (eg "don't tell me you don't judge by the skin" or something like that). made me think of her last album and the line "worst part about living a lie, is just wondering when they'll find out". "Left Behind" on this one sounds like it's about native rights. So many questions.

█▆▇▅▇█▇▆▄▁▃
Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." © Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

>>So strong I can ignore her complaints about stardom (my
>>biggest pet peeve when it comes to lyric writing).
>
>Mine too - I actually didn't notice this though, but I find
>myself zooming in and out with her in terms of lyrics... I
>catch snippets that only gradually come together as complete
>songs. So probably haven't caught those snippets yet

Reggie Watts speaks to it in his review of the album - http://music.thetalkhouse.com/talks/reggie-watts-talks-tune-yards-nikki-nack/

While I don't know if I agree with all of his wording I do feel it's a good read.

█▆▇▅▇█▇▆▄▁▃
Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." © Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

Not sure how I missed it...

After a lot more listening, this is easily one of my fav records of the year so far.

Sidenote: finally got around to checking out Matana Roberts' new one from late last year, Mississippi Moonchile - you heard it yet? Really, really good (no surprise there), but completely different listening experience from Chapter 1.

-thebigfunk

~ i could still snort you under the table ~

no.

you would not.

█▆▇▅▇█▇▆▄▁▃
Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." © Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

heard snippets on NPR last week and was intrigued...will listen out