The three records we’re highlighting today are difficult to pigeonhole, playing with notions of genre and even the very foundations of music itself. In each case, the results are electrifying.
Niecy Blues – Exit Simulation
In my mind, Kranky Records is synonymous with adventurous experimental sounds; this is, after all, the label that championed acts like Low, Grouper and Labradford. So I was intrigued when the label announced the debut album from Niecy Blues, an avant-R&B act from South Carolina. In many ways, Exit Simulation is an outlier for Kranky; it’s pulling sounds from an array of genres (R&B, gospel, dream pop) that aren’t well represented in their catalogue. But listening to the album it makes perfect sense as a natural extension of their curatorial vision. Much like many of their labelmates, listening to Niecy’s music is an all enveloping experience. A swirlingly hallucinogenic mix of found sound, shimmering soundscapes and song fragments, it’s best described in the same way Niecy describes their writing process: like a force of nature.
Quade – Nacre
AD 93 may be best known for exploring the fringes of electronica, but their rapidly growing roster continues to delight and confound in equal measure. Quade are a Bristol four piece who may be best described as a “rock band”, but that’s a gross oversimplification. Perhaps the closest comparison I’ve come up with is early Godspeed You! Black Emperor; Quade’s songs are much pithier, but they often manage to conjure up the same psychic wastelands as that group. But even that comparison is imperfect. “Stretching Out” has the majestic sweep of Black Country, New Road; the twitchy, angular “Circles” echoes the rock deconstructions of label mates Moin. They also sprinkle in elements chamber pop, post rock, and European folk music. It’s a head spinning mix of influences and ideas that come together as one of the most interesting rock albums of the year.
Maths Balance Volumes – Cycles of Tonight
The two previous records play with notions of genre, but on their latest album, Maths Balance Volumes play with the very notion of song. What actually makes a song? A faintly hummed tune? A seemingly haphazard flurry of notes that form a spectral melody? A creaking floorboard? The tracks onCycles of Tonight teeter between song and sound collage, showing that any of these elements can be an integral part of either when placed in the right context. The creaking floorboards in “Stay” are gently percussive, matching the energy of its languid melody. “Tonight” opens with a few seconds of melody before descending into pure sound college. “Egyptian Wedding” sounds like a song belted out from the bottom of a well. Cycles of Tonight constantly subverts your expectations, always managing to find music where you’d least expect it.