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tUnE-YaRdS
w h o k i l l
(4AD)
A

Need to know: Sure, the stylization of the name tUnE-YaRdS looks like a 13-year-old’s MSN Messenger display name, but upon listening to 32-year-old New England native Merill Garbus, she definitely doesn’t invoke any of the connotations that her band name suggests. Garbus entirely self-produced and recorded her first album BiRd-BrAinS in 2009, using a handheld voice recorder. The result was a quirky, lo-fi, DIY aesthetic that was a hybrid of contrasting genres, including freak folk, electronic, funk, Afro-pop and acoustic. Shortly after its release, tUnE-YaRdS was signed to British independent label 4AD. The track “Fiya” off BiRd-BrAiNs was then featured on a 2010 advert for Blackberry Torch. While Garbus continued creating drum loops on the spot, playing the ukulele and singing, she recruited Nate Brenner to join her on electric bass for the release of her sophomore album w h o k i l l.

Via Twitter: whokill has benefitted from 4AD’s support, removing excessive noise that brought down her debut to deliver a highly eccentric and playful LP.

Sample: “Bizness”

RIYL: Avey Tare, Dirty Projectors, Marnie Stern, Micachu

tUnE-YaRdS.com

Tags: Merill Garbus, tUnE-YaRdS, w h o k i l l

Posted on Thursday, April 21st, 2011 at 1:59 pm by Arianne - Correspondent and is filed under Blog, Review, The Wedge.

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