Album Review: ‘Nikki Nack’

The first things you notice are the drums. Frantic, syncopated and groovy, the drums on “Nikki Nack”‘s first single, “Water Fountain,” have one intention, and one intention only: to make you dance.

This isn’t a normal dance, however. This is a song that invites listeners to dance offbeat, to embrace their weird sides and to appreciate their eccentricities. The song is frenzied, visceral and layered with sounds to the point of saturation. Merrill Garbus – the lead singer of tUnE-yArDs – sings, yells, chants and speaks, at times looping her voice to add another layer to the already chaotic medley of noise that makes up the song. Yet somehow, this works. The different levels work together in creating a song greater than the sum of its parts.

Despite being an undeniably good pop song, “Water Fountain” is also a dark social commentary.

Garbus sings, “Nothing feels like dying like the drying of my burning skin and lawn/ Why do we just sit here while they watch us whither till we’re gone?”

The singsong beat of “Water Fountain” is juxtaposed with images of hardship and turmoil, creating a dissonance between the lyrics and the music.

Therein lies the beauty of tUnE-yArDs. Garbus has an innate ability to wrap deep, existential and political messages into catchy pop tunes, creating music that is at once meaningful, confrontational and fun. This is what makes “Nikki Nack” such a phenomenal record.

While the album touches on a host of topics – from the pitfalls of celebrity culture (“Real Thing”) to Garbus’ own self-confidence (“Hey Life”) – and draws from many influences, it is Garbus’ electric personality that manages to tie the record together in a way that is irrefutably tUnE-yArDs.

“Stop that Man,” for example, sees Garbus’ singing about the Trayvon Martin case:

“He wanted what is mine/ But I’ve paid too much/ To let him walk away … We’ll have to be our own policeman,” Garbus sings.

Garbus brings to light issues pertinent to Americans in 2014, but the lyrics are in no way preachy or self-righteous. Instead, the song is both challenging and accessible; politically charged but packaged as pop music that stimulates both listeners’ intellect and their emotions.

In creating a record that embraces dichotomy, pairing stimulating lyrics with infectious beats, “Nikki Nack” exists in a space that is relevant to both casual and avid fans of tUnE-yArDs’ music. Those who are aware of Garbus’ ability to speak on political issues unpretentiously will be right at home with this record, and casual fans will be transfixed by the aural density of the music, unable to stop themselves from dancing.

It may seem as though “Nikki Nack” is a haphazard album, pulling together the many eccentricities of Merrill Garbus’ personality into a 13-song, 42-minute affair. The notion holds to some extent as each song, multifaceted and richly textured, is an abstract painting in its own right. Yet what ties the album together is Garbus herself. Her voice acts as a guide through dense sonic landscapes, illuminating the various idiosyncrasies that make her tick. She is at once a voice of the people, a party-starter, an activist and a child; “Nikki Nack” capsules her quirks and contradictions, laying them bare for everyone to see.