In a week that was supposed to be all about Sleigh Bells’ new release, Claire Boucher has stolen the public spotlight. The spunky, Montreal-based synth-pop artist (a.k.a. Grimes) has been featured as artist-of-the-week in Vogue Magazine and been glorified in The New York Times. Her failed attempt to recreate Huckleberry Finn—she and a friend filled a small boat with chickens and potatoes in hopes of navigating down the Mississippi River—has sparked internet fanfare. And her off-beat hairdos and guiltless admiration for Korean pop music have made her into a sort of hipster’s hipster.
Grimes’ debut full-length, Visions, is worthy of the attention. Grimes is the anima to Oneohtrix Point Never’s animus—the yin to his yang. Whereas OPN makes morbid and disembodied ambient music, Grimes takes that same morbidity and brings it to bubblegum pop. The result is surprisingly addictive. “Circumambient” sounds like a subtler, more artistic rendition of Sleigh Bells’ melodic, sometimes abrasive hard rock. Lead single “Genesis” takes cloudy Aphex Twin beats and punctures through them with her hyper-feminine falsetto. As an album, it wears its heart on its hennaed kimono sleeves.
The progression of Visions resembles a late-night joyride: initially fast and dopamine-pumping, the album finds a steady groove, mellows and seeks rest. Like Flying Lotus, Grimes has mastered the full spectrum between hyperactive pop and slow ambient music. The bleary-eyed, penultimate track “Skin” is every bit as stunning as the album’s dense, break-beat opener. Despite varying tempos, her voice never sounds out of place, and her beats never lose vitality.
Visions is a few miscues away from greatness. There are moments—especially during “Colour of Moonlight” and “Eight”—when her voice is too ethereal and lacks substance. Grimes could build greater depth if she grounded her voice with meaningful lyrics. At times, her vocals are too indebted to commercial and K-pop. But there’s no question that Grimes has laid the groundwork and sown high expectations for a potentially game-changing sophomore album.
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