Kim Gordon’s second solo album The Collective arrives on 8th March via Matador / Remote Control.
After decades in Sonic Youth and other projects, indie icon Gordon released her first solo record in 2019. Now she’s offering another slice of intriguing art rock that is sonically compelling, but a challenging listen.
Recorded in Gordon’s native Los Angeles, The Collective follows her 2019 full-length debut No Home Record and continues her collaboration with producer Justin Raisen, with additional production from Anthony Paul Lopez.
The sound of Gordon’s work is a wall of noise, stop start murky grooves with overblown sounds, odd bleeps and squeals, and vocals that deliver deadpan snippets of poetry and word lists. It’s an intense listening experience, a challenging but rewarding sound journey.
BYE BYE is the album’s first single and it’s a good sample of the sound of the whole record. A mix of layered guitars, a contagious beat that swirls and twists, and a sound that makes you think a really pleasant fire alarm is going off. While Gordon appears to be listing all the things she needs to pack in her luggage before leaving.
Next up is The Candy House a song that has similar elements but starts and stops, slips into dub territory, but then suddenly comes crashing back into your face. I Don’t Miss My Mind sounds like a grunge air-raid could be expected imminently, as Gordon repeats a catch phrase from RuPaul.
I’m A Man has a drone guitar sound, matched with odd beats, serious distortion and Gordon’s proclamations. Trophies continues with more of the same sound.
A few tracks into this album you might be searching for a reprieve from the bombardment, but it never comes, it just gets louder, slower, faster, more distorted, and more intense, as you work your way through the tunes.
Decades after she burst onto to the music scene Kim Gordon shows she’s still as creative as ever, not prepared to make an album just for the fans, and ready to challenge our listening as much as ever.
Look out for Kim Gordon’s The Collective from 8th March.
Graeme Watson
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