1. Find a New Way
2. Water Fountain
3. Time of Dark
4. Real Thing
5. Look Around
6. Hey Life
7. Sink-O
8. Why Do We Dine On the Tots?
9. Stop That Man
10. Wait for a Minute
11. Left Behind
12. Rocking Chair
13. Manchild
When art is as rich as this the critic’s job is an easy one. His job is simply to deflect the energy of the medium onto the public. Artistically speaking, indifference is of course feared above hatred and, though it’s all relative, Nikki Nack does settle down into a more straightforward set after a luxurious opening four. Garbus needn’t worry though because her joyous LP still deserves both critical and public acclaim. Whether it’ll get it is another thing altogether.
Yet, if the album is a study of self-doubt, and comes loaded with neurosis, the lyrics stand in contrast with the music. Sonically, Nikki Nack is a wild rumpus: sounding tighter, more accomplished, more polished, and more dynamic than its predecessor. The first Tune-Yards album, 2009's home-recorded, rickety Bird-Brains, now feels lightyears away; Garbus cutting a strutting figure over booming basslines and joyfully-thumped percussion. This contrast makes the whole album feel like its best song: anthemic, yet never arrogant. It reveals its creator as determinedly human; Garbus seeming even more like the 'real thing' for just how real she is.
Everything I read about this album just makes me anticipate it even more. Two weeks!
Two weeks!