Grimes + Sleigh Bells | Track reviews

“Genesis”
Grimes

Canadian Claire Boucher is the whole of Grimes. With her run-of-the-mill keyboards and Lisbeth Salander hairdo, the hyped Montrealer is yet another ’80s throwback, which the world needs like it needs another KFC. “Genesis,” her first for legendary goth-pop label 4AD, starts off following Kraftwerk down its “Autobahn,” but quickly falls asleep at the wheel. Rudimentary and rote electro aside, the real issue with Grimes lies in the lyrics. The complete lack of them. Boucher babbles in baby-talk, without the structure of verses and choruses. Wait, what did she just say? “Holding my hose / I am the naked boss / Thalamus salad”?

We’ll never know, as she apparently favors the technique of holding her tongue between her thumb and index finger while singing. 4AD has a history of gibberish. The Cocteau Twins innovated it, using imaginary language to evoke the fantastic. There was a grammar to it. Grimes merely obscures the fact that she has nothing to say.