tUnE-yArDs – I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life

As tUnE-yArDs, Merrill Garbus has been pushing boundaries with her usage of percussion and instrumentation, more akin to African drum circles than modern rock. It sounds so different that it’s remarkable how successful she has become, playing the late night talk shows for her latest, I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life. She goes even further on Creep, with electronica and reflection on just what she’s doing.

There are still the catchy rhythms in pieces like opener “Heart Attack” and “ABC 123”, dance tracks for stop-start awkward dancers. But Garbus also ranges farther, from the high harmonies of “Home” to the arrhythmic, even asonic, “Now As Then”, from the bigger action of “Look At Your Hands” to the distance of “Who Are You”.

There is also a decidedly more electronic bent to the beats, though it thankfully doesn’t come off as EDM or DJs, as Garbus retains her natural ways even when synthesized. And because it’s 2018, there has to be social purpose to Creep, but “Colonizer” actually takes on Garbus’ own status as a white woman using African beats.

As always, tUnE-yArDs isn’t for everybody (if you find the name annoying, you’re probably best moving on), but Garbus further refines her signature sound.