Sketchy - Tune-Yards: Review

Tune-Yards

are a California based indie group who are now more than a decade into their career. They received massive critical acclaim for their 2nd and 3rd albums in 2011 and 2014 which brought a unique style combining up-beat and often unconventional indie instrumentation with African beat music influences and of course frontwoman Merrill Gabriel's unique vocals. The band made use of dizzying compositions and dense vocal layering to create an incredibly unique sound in the world of modern indie and after briefly dipping their toes into the world of film soundtracks in 2019, are back with their 5th studio album.

Review By Lav:

I love Tune Yards. I listed their album w h o k i l l as one of my 50 favorite of 2011 just a few weeks ago and I will surely do the same with Nikki Nack if the world is still turning in 2024. I wrote a pretty positive review of the bands 4th album I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life back in 2018 and while I may have soured on some of the records deep cuts in the years since tracks like Coast To Coast and Now As Then are still major highlights. I was initially pretty excited for the band to return but my hype for the record went through the roof after hearing each of the three singles and really enjoying all of them. While Sketchy isn't quite the masterpiece I was hoping for it is a solid record with some meaningful highlights beyond its stacked set of singles.

There's been a lot of talk about the albums trio of singles so we will start there, because in my opinion the band is 3 for 3. nowhere man is the opening track and since landing on my Singles Of The Year list last year I've grown to appreciate it even more and see it as one of my favorite Tune-Yards tracks to date. The song is bouncy and driving with a confrontational vocal performance that makes it absolutely pop. It also has a killer hook that works despite being so simple proving how much the versatile instrumental and vocals are working wonders. Next up came hold yourself, just as big a hit despite a relatively simple instrumental by the bands standards. The song sees Merrill addressing the complicated role a parent plays and trying to remember what it was like being a child themselves and the lyrics do a great job of rising with the instrumental to create an instant classic of a hook. The rising layered vocal harmonies on the hook are absolutely beautiful and sound even better in the back half of the song when the call and response vocals make for the perfect bridge back into the great chorus. The song is blissful throughout and incredibly memorable even without mentioning the awesome saxophone interpolated into its final minute or so, excellent. Finally there's hypnotized yet another highlight with an infectious bass groove and an almost relaxed nature on the verses that set up a wonderfully bright hook. Merrill's vocals are at their most sweet and perhaps fittingly their most hypnotizing. Despite passages with scattered drums taking up the entire background the song never feels like its too sparse or dragging. 

Thankfully there were some deep cuts here that turned out to be almost as enjoyable as the great singles. make it right has a wandering bass groove and slightly off kilter drumming that makes it feel unsettling despite being on the slower side as far as pace goes. Merrill completely takes the song over as soon as her soaring vocals emerge on the bridge and while the track isn't necessarily intense it is infectious. It blends strong socially conscious messaging with a bouncy and occasionally even triumphant sense of songwriting with great results. my neighbor is another highlight and I'm not kidding when I say the track is literally a trip hop cut. Merrill pulls off the reserved vocals pretty well eliciting a dramatic performance without the need to be loud. With rustling electronics and a steady drum beat it stands out from just about everything else on the record but in a really good way that I enjoy more and more with each listen. under your lip is a bright blend of off kilter indie pop with a brass section and electronics. The song is being pulled in all kind of directions and while that occasionally manifests itself in cluttered ways it works wonders on the hook. While it isn't my favorite song here it definitely has a moment worth waiting for.

Silence Pt. 1 is a fine track but there isn't anything othere that necessarily sounds bad but there also isn't anything that catchy or unique that is grabbing me. There are some cool vocal gymnastics that remind me of very early Tune-Yards but they never really get that bold or hooky and the song breezes by only making a slight impression. It is also followed by Silence Pt. 2 which is a full minute of actual silence, it's definitely a bold move but also pretty on brand for the band. sometime makes use of a head spinning array of instrumentation to create a restless sound. Merrill is her normal charming self calling out hilariously unique vocal refrains and delivering sharp spoken word. My biggest complaint about the song is that the very different sections don't really flow together very well and it feels like a couple of 30 second passages strung together at random. 

homewrecker kicks off with some awesome wonky instrumentation that sounds exactly like something the band would do. Unfortunately I'm not as much in love with the vocals and they remind me a lot of the bands track Colonizer but with slightly more energy behind them. The vocal effects seem to hamper some of the energy but my primary issue is the completely flat hook. The song is weird and has some cool instrumental moments but I'm not loving it as a whole. Finally the closing track be not afraid is a bit of a confusing closer that starts with a long build-up featuring dreary backing instrumentation of vocalizing. The song has an air of uncomfortable energy that seems to contrast with its message of assurance. With the reserved instrumental and use of vocal effects the song is dialing it back if anything which makes it a really weird and deflating choice for a finale. 

Sketchy is a nice record from Tune-Yards. I think Merrill comes into her own more as a socially conscious lyricist than I've ever heard from her before and it adds a lot of depth to these songs. While they do make some of the same mistakes I've heard them make before they also push their sound in interesting new directions throughout. Couple this with a handful of the best hooks I've heard this year and you've got an exciting breath of fresh air for indie music that I can recommend to just about anyone. 7/10 

Album Cover Review By Tyler Judson:

This cover is really fun. The colors are vibrant and instead of adding intense detail with those colors it goes minimal with the design. This keeps everything clear when viewed in the small album square. The photo is cool but I think they could have extended themselves outside of the circle and broke the frame. The text goes along with the fun of the colors and helps bring everything together. 7.5/10

For more indie check out my review of The Avalanches' We Will Always Love You here