Nikki Nack

Tune-Yards

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There's so much to love about Nikki Nack, Tune-Yards' third album. It is so incredibly colourful, adventurous, fearless, and most of all, fun. Layers of percussion - traditional, sequenced, and the odd Coke bottle - build to create busy and primal rhythms. Bassist Nate Brenner's presence is always felt throughout the album, delivering one smooth, memorable bassline after another. He will sometimes use large interval leaps, like on Find a New Way, to keep you engaged. Sometimes the basslines are impressively nimble like on Water Fountain. Or if the song calls for it, Brenner will drastically change the tone of his bass using various effects. Manchild makes use of this odd underwater effect for most of the track, and a wide chorus effect in the verses that makes the angular riff even more peculiar. The bass tone on Sink-O is a little sharper in the treble range, providing a little more bite to the urgent track. In every application, Brenner's bass playing is always tasteful and shows careful consideration for how the tone of his bass can improve each song on a case by case basis.

With such a strong rhythmic foundation, Tune-Yards main-brain Merrill Garbus is able to fill out the harmonic content with as many zany ideas she can come up with. Garbus' biggest strength of course is her voice. Versatile and dynamic, Garbus can sing delicately, belt like a blaring horn, and anywhere in between. When she layers her vocals with doubles and harmonies, like on key moments of Water Fountain, Real Thing, and especially Rocking Chair for example, the sound is so powerful; often leading to the records most epic moments. What she says though is every bit as important as how she says it. I catch themes of challenging colonialism, wrestling with America's racist past and relevant issues that persist, and battling self-doubt. Garbus codes social justice messages through dystopian tales and satirical allegory with her witty wordplay, and while Garbus at times sounds frustrated, the jovial and bold nature of the instrumentals feel like a celebration of the progress made so far while simultaneously functioning as a rallying cry to demand better. Nikki Nack covers all the bases. It's catchy, thoughtful, exhilarating, meaningful, and I can go on and on. It is a fantastic art-pop album and easily the most impactful project (to me) that Tune-Yards has produced to date.