ALBUM REVIEW : GRIMES - VISIONS

I could start off by whining about the lack of decent female producer/artists on the electronic scene but it’s been done before. Besides, I know at least 3, and Montreal based vocalist, composer, and all round artiste Claire Boucher aka Grimes is definitely one of them.

A one man (sorry - one woman) machine when it comes to making the most bewildering disarray of stunning beat based electro sound - drawing influence from people like Prince and Enya, from vintage pop to state-of-the art electronic, from the hazy aural landscape of the Indian orient (Symphonia) and more, calling Grimes’ sound weird is like calling a daVinci colourful: Visions is a dizzyingly catchy eclectic fusion of everything that sounds great. Boucher describes her work as an ‘ethereal escape’ - that’s a good place to start.

According to the prolific music maker (this is album number 4 in two years) “Visions” was the result of weeks of self-imposed solitude - she didn’t see the sun for weeks. If insanity is the mark of the real artist and pasty skin the mark of a true producer - then she’s got both in buckets.

Boucher has an ear for what’s hot and hits the nails on the head - a genius at pulling together and knotting up everything that is in knife edge vogue. With throwbacks to 90s pop and dirty R&B beats, classical instrumentation (Nightmusic) and aggressive crunchy industrial beats topped off by waif like vocals (think Lykke Li) it’s great to see someone who is unafraid of crossing genre boundaries in a work of art like this. And I bet she’s a nice person too...

'Burial' is the pick of the bunch in regards to being the most commercially linear: and the disgustingly catchy beat/melody. There is however something to be said for the more erratic watercolour chillwave rivulets of 'Genesis', the off kilter melodies of 'Infinite - Without Fulfillment'. Personal preference means I shy from tracks like ‘Eight' that cross too far into modern RnB, but I’m loathe to say I enjoy infectious electro/dance pop 'Circumambient'. From the aggressive runway strut of 'Be a Body' to the angelic ethereal love song of 'Symphonia IX' that bubbles into murky depths - you really can’t see where this chick is going next. An obvious hit in indie circles, with wider appeal to pop and rnB, the hype is well deserved

Grimes // Buy 'Visions'