Body/Head
Coming
Apart
Matador
There
is so much propulsive feedback, and so many drones, that you don’t notice the
drums, and then you realize they aren’t needed. This is a
tribute to the abilities of
Kim Gordon and her partner Bill Nace. Their guitar
work, especially on the intro to “Can’t Help You,” melodise providing
the very loose yet sturdy structure, the feedback, and the drones providing a
steady rhythm. That has the effect of being vaguely ominous, but is more often
strangely comforting. There is nothing cold about this music. It is warm,
enveloping, and perfect to meditate to, especially if you hate or are sick of
new age music and want something with some teeth in it.
Kim’s
chanting adds to these effects. A word, a phrase, no verse-like lyrics. Just a
line or two here and there, in a voice that is cracked and strained. Yet these are
some of the finest vocals she’s ever done, and make this a classic, even if
you’re not sure how well you understand, or get experimental noise/music.
Kim
Gordon deserves her icon status in whatever she does, in whatever medium she
chooses to express herself, not just because she broke so much ground, and is
one of the few college rockers still making relevant music. She’s set the
benchmarks for women making any kind of music, and is just as much a godmother of rock as Patti Smith. In Nace, she has found a better and
more sympathetic player than even Thurston or Lee, and that’s not a put down of
either. It’s just a different type of playing than they did. But I prefer this
album to a lot of Sonic Youth’s work, even though I am a fan of that band, and
would pull this album out to play before I would pull out, say, Goo, that’s how
wonderful this album is.
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