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Friday, March 29
The Indiana Daily Student

StYliZed experiments in pop music

tuneyards

After the attention-grabbing “BiRd-BrAiNs,” tUnE-yArDs has returned with “w h o k i l l,” an album that far exceeds the achievements of its predecessor.

I have to admit that I didn’t care for the first album, with its bare textures and annoying digital clipping. “w h o k i l l” expands the palette; the band, which previously only featured Merrill Garbus, has now added Nate Brenner on bass and other musicians. The album finally feels like it was made by an actual band, and Brenner’s bass lines are a funky counterpoint to Garbus’ ukulele and androgynous voice, which is soothing one moment and manic the next.

The production on this album finds a perfect middle ground between sterility and warmth, exemplified on the first track, “My Country.” The song begins with a bit of staticky spoken word, setting the listener up for an album of crackly lo-fi music. Instead, the band’s expanded sound blasts through the speakers. It’s a revelatory moment.

“w h o k i l l” is not only a great example of a band’s maturation, but also a great album on its own.

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