Grimes

                                                     Visions

                                                     8.5/10

                                                 iPod Worthy

Somehow Grimes’ single, “Vanessa” from her split 2011 EP made it passed my filter. It wasn’t until late last month that I heard the killer song and if I heard it earlier, it would have easily made my favorite tracks of the year. After poking around, however, “Vanessa” was pretty much the only song I really dug from the British Columbia musician, (aka Claire Boucher), so at first I wasn’t expecting too much for her upcoming release. Then came the two releases from her third album, Visions. Both “Geneis” and “Oblivion” are instantly ear-grabbing, commanding and fresh. And so is Visions from start to finish.

“Genesis” starts off with a Western-World sounding synth line, then Boucher’s mousey voice pops in and you’re whisked away by the thin drumming. When you get to the hook where she chants “everything, everything, everything” you’re just like damn. Then the dark “Oblivion” rolls in right after. Dusty drumming, reverbed vocals provide an echoey backstage for Grimes to squeak lyrics like “it’s hard to understand because when you’re by yourself it’s hard to understand” and “girl, you gotta watch your health.” And that wobbling synth never lets up. Both tracks are equally sexy, strange, entertaining and compelling. The trippy, sampled and dizzy tracks “Eight” and “Circumambient” are nice transitions into the rest of the album, proving to be the glue to Visions. 

“Vowels = space and time” is on another level. It’s the most danceable song on the LP and Grimes’ inspirations of big-vocal singers (Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston etc) really shines through as she belts it out as best as her timid voice can. The track is endearing but confident and all around simply wonderful. “Be a Body” is another instant jam with its stadium-sounding synths and tumbling drums. Grimes’ once again takes her best shot at singing like the Greats but her failed attempt is so cute, you can’t help but become enamored with the song. About halfway through, we get smacked with this sharp synth and more reverbed vocals and the song takes off.

“Symphonia IX (my wait is u)” is a darker cut with laired vocals and dazzling, dripping synths. Following in the same path is “Nightmusic (feat. Majical Cloudz),” which opens up with samples of violins twisting and turning but then a booming synth and loud drums burst through the operatic dramatics. Again, there are more laired vocals but Grimes is able to keep every track fresh and sounding different and fun, like with the use of bazar backwards vocals. “Skin” is the most direct and clear song on the record and it is a beauty.

Visions could be much better than it already is. The thing that upsets me the most is the production or, the lack there of. Grimes has mentioned that the LP was created all on the pedestrian software, Garageband — and you can tell. Everything used on the album, from vocals, drums, synths could all be massively improved and carried out with better execution. At times, things sound brittle when you want them to sound powerful and mind-blowing. Nevertheless, Grimes does prove she can turn out a great product on the free Apple program.

At its core, Visions is a pure pop album. Its made by a carefree 20-something who tweets that she still lives with her parents, has stomach problems and just wants to make it. She is an ambitious musician and shows that she is a talented artist with her third (although it feels like her first) LP. All of Grimes’ cute and quirky traits pop through in her lyrics, sound and voice. The album is flat out fun and not really meant to explored as deeply as I just have. Although there haven’t been too many releases this yet, Visions has been the most enjoyable album of 2012. 

Listen to the stellar track “Vowels = space and time” below: