Micachu and the Shapes - Jewellry (Rough Trade 2009)

This album has buzz oozing from its pours. Put back about three times as different labels scrabbled to get her, finally it sees its release on Rough Trade. Precocious experimental 21 year old Micachu brings out an album with her Shapes that has more wit invention ideas and ideals than the average BIG record from your favourite BIG band. Matching bizarre electronics with hyperactive drums and strummed acoustic guitars, this album is a scuzzy mess of invention and power-avant-garde pop. Songs mutate and genres tussle with each other for space as each song, though short is a breakneck explosion of different styles. Electronics pulse, hoovers create a dense fuzz around her voice, blessingly disguised as an instrument rather than a confessional zeitgeist hive of self-references like Kate Nash or Lily Allen. Her lyrics are often obscured by sounds and the vocals tend to provide a thudding rhythm rather than be spotlit. But her every yelp and tick has a benefit to the evolution and mutation of each song. From the horrorcore pulse of 'Vulture' the first evil jangle, a torrent of yelps is unleashed while drums and percussive 'found sounds' all make their mark on the track. 'Lips' explores grime and punk crossovers like an aural Venn diagram. In 'Sweetheart' and 'Eat your Teeth' she plays with her voice, sampling and manipulating its every squeal and yelp and processing them into explosions of off-kilter sequencing. 'Golden Phone' is the dirtiest pop punk song ever. It's amazing to hear so many ideas in each short song that by the exhausting 34th minute ending, you're left breathless and beguiled by the mess of ideas and complete auteurism on display. 'Worst Bastard' is vitriolic punk brilliance; 'Calculator' is 50s rockabilly manipulated into hip-hop rhythms. There are so many influences on here, it is ridiculous. From the grime MC-sampling 'Abandon Ship' to 'Turn Me Well's countrish tinge. It's only March and yet a strong surefire contender for album of the year has suitably laid down a gauntlet that will be impossible to match ideas and progressiveness with. Suitably fucking brilliant.

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