Claire Boucher, aka Grimes, is the poster-child for trendy, hip publications like i-D and Dazed. In stark contrast to her indie and lo-fi roots, her personal Tumblr celebrates pop music icons like Mariah Carey. Her newest album, “Art Angels,” embraces that dichotomy and turns a woman who started out by producing strange, electro tracks in her basement into a pop powerhouse, while retaining depth and nuance.
Grimes has been an indie sensation ever since the release of her 2012 album “Visions” catapulted her into hipster fame. The album received rave reviews from all the right places: Pitchfork named her lead single “Oblivion” the website's top track of the 2010's so far. Her moody, dark multi-layered electro tracks were ethereal, unpolished and like nothing heard before.
The two sides of Grimes, the moody electro-pop mystery and her wholehearted embrace of pop music, are on clear display within the first few songs of “Art Angels.” On the first half, a track featuring screaming and a Taiwanese rapper is immediately followed by the single “Flesh Without Blood," which is unapologetically a pop banger. Grimes' music shows that pop music can be accessible and even danceable, while keeping the depth and complexity often seen in underground music.
In fact, the lyrics on her new album are almost entirely intelligible (a contrast to her earlier work) and while her soaring falsetto still lingers, it’s considerably more reigned in. The music on "Art Angels" is significantly more upbeat and danceable, but keeps the dark lyrics seen in her earlier work. Her music has become increasingly less lo-fi and embraces more mainstream traits, as her lyrics have become outright aggressive toward the publications that ostensibly cater toward her demographic, namely: "Pitchfork." Lyrics like on the twangy track “California” attacks the way the media misrepresents her: “you only like me when you think I'm looking sad/ California/ I didn't think you'd end up treating me so bad”.
Pitchfork sucks. I scrapped that album like 7 months ago lol. "music journalism" smdh ... haha
— grimes (@Grimezsz) September 12, 2014
As she embraces more of a mainstream sound, it becomes more difficult to categorize her as any one type of musician. With influences ranging from K-pop to Dolly Parton to the film “Blade Runner," it’s no wonder her music
For me, it’s how raw she is. Her music is weird, and often a little other-worldly, but these qualities also show how much she genuinely cares about making music she likes, regardless of what her fans want or what’s mainstream. She’s the closest thing underground “hipster” music has to a pop star, yet she hates the label. Aside from her music, she’s outspoken and critical of the way the music industry often exploits women. On a post she made in 2013 titled “I don’t want to have to compromise my morals in order to make a living,” Grimes addresses the infantilization and
On the last track of “Art Angels”, Grimes sings “If you’re looking for your dream girl/ I’ll never be your dream girl." By embracing what she wants to do with her music, regardless of what her fans or the music press may think, Grimes has created her most exciting, interesting piece of art yet. I'll miss the moody, strange underground music that made her a star, but I just can’t wait to see where she goes from here.
Related Links:
For shame! Grimes not releasing a new album makes us sad
The Grime Fades as Art Stays at Modified Arts
Reach the columnist at mvandobb@asu.edu or follow @maureenvd on Twitter.
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