Merrill Garbus and Nate Brenner are not the first to feel it of course, but they know that like the truth, getting cut through for progressive ideas these days is the toughest of quests. “It’s impossible to talk about anything without putting it in the context of the world right now,” Garbus said in the run up to Better Dreaming‘s release “We’re in an age of interruption…but you absolutely need to focus in order to go deep into music.”
Rarely in their career have the duo been accused of not meeting something head on, but whilst the working title of their sixth album was Fight Fascism with Trash Music, musically they’ve recognised that that setting a more inclusive context means an audience with ears to whisper into.
That doesn’t always apply – the alt-rock shaping of Perpetual Motion and the free associating prose of closer Sanctuary reaffirm their artier leanings – but the playlist friendly surfaces elsewhere seem intended to hook those more casual listeners. In this box are the likes of How Big Is The Rainbow, Limelight and most particularly, the urgent post-punk-meets-soul of Swarm. Concentrating on just what’s in front of them, with Better Dreaming Tune-Yards have quit shouting and just pushed their door wide open.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 