SPILL ALBUM REVIEW: KIM GORDON – PLAY ME

KIM GORDON
PLAY ME
MATADOR RECORDS

It’s difficult to know what to expect from a Kim Gordon solo record, given her avant-garde aloofness over her years in music, but I had no idea just how strange it would be to spend my next 40 or so minutes in Gordon’s sonic company.

Collaborator Justin Raisen appears from the off to have once again unlocked the sheer weirdness of everything Gordon can do; the eponymous opener is all slacker hip-hop and strange beats (very reminiscent of Beck’s “Loser” to this ear, at least), and while Gordon’s voice remains unmistakable, it has a strangely smoky and half-slurred quality. In fact, the whole opening half of the album, right through “DIRTY TECH” (one of the strangest and most captivating on the album), contains a mix of experimental sounds and oddly captivating, punchy lyrics.

The strange atmosphere breaks with the most straightforward song on the album, “NOT TODAY,” as tuneful and choppy as can be. However, that portends to an even stranger and darker second half of the album; whether it’s the warped media samples of “BUSY BEE” linked in with breathy vocals, or the menacing “SUBCON” and “POST EMPIRE,” the album never relents from giving you the exact opposite of what you expect.

Having called it weird enough; did I like it? Honestly, it’s one of the strangest albums I’ve ever reviewed, yet it has a moreish quality: I found myself enthralled by it, and I feel like I’ll be back for more. It’s a huge credit to Gordon that, even in her 70s, she’s writing something so fresh, different, and plain relevant. This is well worth your time.

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