tUnE-YaRdS – BiRd-BrAiNs

Merrill Garbus, with her extremely dynamic vocal range going from deep, melodic blues style into chipmunk screeching similar to Dan Deacon, has created a complex incorporation of folk and tribal elements using lo-fi production techniques. The most prominent instrument she uses throughout the album is a mandolin which she uses brilliantly to bring folksy upbeat feeling to songs like “WHENYOUTELLTHELIONS” that would otherwise bring about as much joy as Clint Mansell. With use of her wide range of vocal styles and use of mandolin, yodeling, and heavy beats, BiRd-BrAiNs creates an distinctive array of moods and themes.

In a very Holden Caulfield-esque manner, the album proves to be the competition between the innocent childlike characteristics of her music and lurking mature lyrical content throughout. The immature elements of the album remain obvious in the capitalization of the title of the album, leaving me reminiscent of 7th grade AIM, along with the incorporation of children’s’ voices between tracks and vocals in songs like “News” that assume innocence. But every song is weighed down upon by the heavy lyrical intention as songs like “News,” assuming innocence, actually builds up to reveal that the news is that “I don’t need no booze to get it up in the morning.” In “SAFETY” tUnE-YaRdS actually creates a direct conflict between innocent, mandolin accompanied lyrics seen throughout the album and the dark, realistic lyrics accompanied by heavy drumming and results in total chaos.

The album itself results in a nearly-chaotic conclusion as stand-out tracks, although the highlights of the entire album, don’t seem to fit in with the remaining tracks. “Sunlight” is untouched by the rest of the songs on the album as tUnE-YaRdS uses the blues element of her voice (with what sounds like an actual drum kit) and proves to be the most cohesive song. Other songs that come close are “Little Tiger”, “WHENYOUTELLTHELIONS”, and “Little Tiger”. All of which feature the blues element in her vocal style, which happens to be my favorite of her styles, but also seem to be much more cohesive in their use of instrumentals. So while her use of yodeling on top of intense beats is intense and unique, her strengths remain in her blues style.