Merry Swankster: tUnE-yArDs: danger at the spot jam hop

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November 06, 2009

tUnE-yArDs: danger at the spot jam hop

[Photos by Merry Swankster - 10.23.09 @ Bluebird, opening for Sunset Rubdown]

tUnE-YaRdS return to Denver on Sunday as warm up act for Dirty Projectors at the Bluebird.

Upon entering the Bluebird Theater for Sunset Rubdown's show I was immediately drawn to tUnE-YaRdS noisy racket taking place on the stage. Merrill Garbus is tUnE-YaRdS and she was not only the most exciting performer I've seen rock the shit out of an ukulele, but the most exciting performer this year. She draws you in and hypnotizes with a performance style so raw and honest, even those turned off by the music remain fixated. With a strong and confident voice that appears to pull from the depths of her soul, Garbus represents the tUnE-YaRdS as sole member.

Songs begin by Garbus recording short drum and vocal samples and looping them for the intended track, all done in real time. Unfaithful to the name inferring multiple artists, this is a true one person band. What struck me most about the composition was the precision of each loop and the flawless execution of timing everything together perfectly for each song's rhythmic foundation.

Much like the Dirty Projectors' experimental vocal intonations, Garbus dabbles extensively in modulating her voice, blurring the line between singing and chanting. Her innovative style can at times sound like an amalgamation of forest creatures. It's quite intense and completely rad. A showstopper indeed. An accurate description for the Tune-yards would be Animal Collective's erratic structures combined with the aforementioned Dirty Projectors sweeter embrace of melody and a healthy dollop of African textures for good measure. Seeing the crazy eyed singer straddling the line between loud singing and screaming in front of a crowd unfamiliar with her work and pull off a captivating show was pretty remarkable. You could feel the audience embrace her as the set progressed. In spite of the interesting presentation it lacked the pretense one might expect.

With such a capable and sure voice, Garbus reaches out with a sincerity that is nothing if not wonderfully appealing. Her goofy cuteness during frequent crowd banter only endeared more, as if to further convince what was impossible not to do. If heading to Dirty Projectors this weekend I implore you to get there early and NOT MISS Tune-yards.

Below, a sample from the 4AD released BiRd-BrAiNs album, additional tracks streaming at the Tune-yards site.

From 4AD:

Possessing an expansive sound that marries a coarse folk ingenuity with the bold pop sensibility of an R&B siren, Bird-Brains was assembled with a staunch DIY aesthetic. Recording herself using a digital voice recorder and produced using shareware mixing software.

//tUnE-yArDs - site
//tUnE-yArDs - myspace

tUnE-YaRdS - "Hatari"

"Hatari" is like a grab bag of styles from the Tune-yards universe. Lo-fi R&B, African pop, bright laid-back reggae and ukelele(!) wrapped together in a brilliant track. A cursory Internet search taught me hatari means danger in Swahili. The rest of the recited chants (mimi naweza, sijui) I don't have an answer for.