Hmm. I still haven’t made up my mind. About the album artwork, I mean – Grimes’s [Facebook/Twitter] third album is brilliant, and I’ll get to that in a little bit, but first I must say that I wouldn’t be surprised if one was unable to take Visions seriously after seeing its cover. Regardless of what the old adage might say, this record’s sleeve is divisive… and also rather exciting. It’s eye-catching, and if Clare Boucher wanted to draw people to her music through its visual representation, then I’d say that she’ll succeed in enticing most people into at least giving her latest album a cursory listen.
What they should find is a rather impressive pop album. Yes, you read that right: pop album. As weird as Boucher would like her music to be, she sure as hell knows how to write a hook. Visions is a diverse enough album that most would be able to forgive her if there were any missteps taken on it, but repeated listening will reveal that this is not the case, even if, on first listen – speaking from experience – one could find themselves slightly overwhelmed and not fully able to make sense of what’s going on. While accessibility lies at this album’s core, an opener like Infinite Love Without Fulfilment is immediately going to separate the wheat from the chaff.
Indeed, some of the shorter songs on the album are going to split opinion early on, but as more time is spent with them, and things start to fall into place, they can be viewed instead as integral parts of Visions. Early single Genesis, meanwhile, is a treat, one of the more immediate entry points into Boucher’s strange yet delightful world, with a simple yet supremely effective melody that opens up into something magical. The gradual unveiling of its power is the sort of thing that can be said about the album as a whole: it only really takes hold after three or four listens. It’s immediate, in its own way (as Vowels = Space and Time and Be A Body attest to), but it’s also quite a grower.
Boucher’s third record is one that lives in its own space. Mixing elements of electro and pop and throwing in more than its fair share of curveballs (as an example, pitch-shifted vocals appear on more than one occasion – at least, what I think are pitch-shifted vocals, because she could probably hit those notes if she tried). Some of the song titles are outlandish, sure, but then she deserves to be able to mask songs this good in wordy monikers like Symphonia IX (My Wait Is U), as this trick just adds to the album’s colourful nature. Topping out at 48 minutes across 13 songs, it feels like it goes by in less than 25. This is an expansive and enjoyable album that straddles the line between arty and accessible, and does it very well indeed.
Visions is out on Monday through 4AD.
PRE-ORDER Grimes – Visions: Banquet Records (CD/LP) / Amazon (CD/LP) / iTunes