I came straight out of eight months of dissertation writing into a full time job.
There we go. It's not a particularly decent excuse, but it's an excuse nevertheless.
Sorry I've only posted three times during the course of 2009. I am tremendously rubbish.
But by way of a "SORRY" present, I've decided I'm going to write a series of short and straight to the point "I love this band! This is why! Now make your own assessment!" articles on my favourite up and coming acts of the moment.
STARTING WITH...
tUnE-yArDs
Picture the scene. We're in the death throes of the the final day of the 2009 Breeders' curated ATP at Butlins, Minehead; I've fallen in love with Blood Red Shoes all over again, hugged Kimya Dawson, danced my socks off to Foals, been brutalised by Melt Banana, admired The Bronx, almost combusted with euphoria whilst watching Holy F**k, been told by a complete stranger that I'm "the cutest thing" she'd "ever seen" (this remains my life's pinnacle of experiencing humbling fear, my distinctly ridiculous shy awkwardness, hilarity and sheer cockiness SIMULTANEOUSLY), eaten my own bodyweight in chips and cereal bars, been guided through a game of indie bingo by my housemates, and just generally had a wonderful, incredible time.
And then there was her.
Merrill Garbus, or tUnE-yArDs to you and me, takes to the stage, with three tom-drums around her, armed only with her ukulele, loop pedal and stunning voice.
She resides in a perfect spot on the musical spectrum: halfway between lo-fi experimentalism and blissful pop sensibilities, halfway between the great soul-searchingly delicate acoustic songwriters of yesteryear and the current wave of hipster female artists, halfway between avant-garde eccentricity and mainstream acceptability. Just listen to her. Go on.
Her debut album bIrD-bRaInS, released on 4AD records was recorded on a dictaphone and
then collated together into the finished product on shareware music software ('Audacity' no
less, which this writer has used many times to record rubbish quality demos).
The result is a collection of charming lo-fi songs, distinctive from those of anybody else in
the contemporary music world, by their very oeuvre and musicality.
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