Grimes - Art Angels

Grimes
Art Angels
2015

Grimes as a character has already been celebrated as a feminist icon, speaker of ones mind and accomplished producer all in her own right. However the music although very well done on her previous album Visions didn't pack that punch that it should have. Things have changed with Art Angels. Almost three years since Visions Grimes put her head down and focused on the music creating something of a pop sensation. Just as the record makes pop music it is snubbing it's nose at the genre, Grimes refuses to sing about love giving the thought that it's probably just to easy for her. From a production standpoint this record is all over the map. Grimes uses any genre, any style basically anything she can to create the sound she wants. A country star could sing some of these songs just as well as a pop princess and the results would be just the same: a really great track. Grimes' perceived position as an outsider allows her to take shots at music while still crafting it beautifully herself. Each track is another end of the night classic especially "Belly of the Beast" which just kind of lets you down slowly into the dark.

Grimes' new appreciation of K-Pop and the likes of Mariah Carey comes across on this record as well. "Kill V. Maim" has a cheerleader-esque chant which is so far away from her style but it fits perfectly on this record. Thing with Grimes are bound to get weird so instead of digging in it is better to just go along for the ride she is taking you on. "Artangles" could have been a Spice Girls song in another life, the album then more than anything feels like her proving the point that she can produce with the best, and she is goddamned right. She is that perfect balance between art and rock, which can so easily be fucked up by going to far to one side or the other. You can tell just from a cursory listen that each sound was meticulously placed to add something to the whole. Art Angels is not an album to miss absolutely one of the best of 2015.

9.6 out of 10