The Underground of Happiness

Another one from a few months back that hasn't made it here yet. Merrill Garbus seems to find currents in the pop ether that nobody else has noticed. So here's the perfectly boisterous and catching first single from the current album Nikki Nack . It's a clapping song, which I suppose some people might take as a negative. It isn't. As well as percussive flesh, there's also more lovely, slinky basslines from Nate Brenner, assorted electronic whipcracks and a series of overlapping, gloriously soulful vocals. The topic is water politics in California. But Tune-Yards have wrapped it in a tune so uplifting and vibrant, you won't be able to stop yourself from signing the petition. A reason to sing x Protest music + Irresistible tune = Top class pop music *Check the equally wonderful 'Hey life', which features more knock-out, elastic poly rhythms. In particular, pay attention to the genius Merrill brings to bear on the vocal layers after the...

Another week, another magic live performance from Tune-Yards (as you know, I refuse to do the cAps ShIfT thing), this time covering a Yoko Ono song, We're all water , at the Iceland Airwaves Festival in Reykjavik . As with all great cover versions, Merrill Garbus (and Nate Brenner , let's not forget) manages to make it sound like one of her own songs. Yoko joins them onstage at the end for some freeform vocal workouts, and later asks the crowd "she's great, right?" The answer, Yoko, is yes. (Makes me feel a bit sorry for Nate cos he's extremely cool too.)

No excuse needed around here for a bit of Tune-Yards , the album whokill on 4AD being a shoe-in for album of the year in the UOH cabin. The still current single is Gangsta and a new video for the song has been put together by the very talented Merrill Garbus herself. She comes across as more ninja than gangsta in it, to be honest, showing herself to be extremely flexible (physically as well as artistically). But really, she could have filmed two flies crawling up a wall and put the tune to it and I would have been happy. Legend. Shot on the ubiquitous Eye-Phone...

It's been a few months since we've mentioned Merrill Garbus so it's great to come across some footage of her NBC television debut on the Jimmy Fallon show from last week. Not only do Merrill and Nate Brenner put on a storming performance of Gangsta , the first single from latest album Whokill on 4AD , they've also roped in a horn section and houseband The Roots for help on drumming and rapping. In the words of Tony Bourdain, it's a wonderful thing. *Get a load of that bottle percussion too.

More class action from Merrill Garbus , first explaining the title of the current album, whokill on 4AD , then getting together with partner in crime Nate Brenner to perform a stunning live version of You yes you from the album. Playing Whelan's, Dublin, June 17 Yourstru.ly Presents: tUnE-yArDs "You Yes You" from Yours Truly on Vimeo .

Tune-Yards - whokill (4AD) After recording her debut, Bird-Brains , using a dictaphone and freeware, album number two sees Merrill Garbus making full use of a studio, in terms of scope and sound. Unlike that album, there's a lot less ukulele in sight (one exception is Wolly wolly gong with its spooky fairytale quality, a kind of hip-hop lullaby). The other main difference is a more prominent dub influence running throughout - a prime example is Powa with its lovely loping tempo and heavily reverbed vocals. The single Gangsta has a great caustic energy (brass and strident vocals); check out the street funk of My country , with a memorable fuzz synth line, freewheeling brass section and playground chant na-na-na-na-na outro. However, if you have no other contact with this album, you must at least hear the transcendant moment during Doorstep when a bevvy of layered Merrill's (all sha-la-la's and whoa-oo-whoa's) contrive to produce an intimate atmosphere straight off a ...

Great to hear some new music from Tune-Yards the other week, a track called bizness , ahead of her new album, whokill , due out in April. You can listen here: http://tune-yards.com/ Here's what I thought of it: Tune Yards - bizness (4AD, from the upcoming album whokill ) Picking up where Merrill Garbus left off with her wonderful debut Bird Brains but with a less ramshackle feel (recorded in a studio as opposed to on a dictaphone). Fantastic, gymnastic vocal loops get things going, before a west African-style groove of staccato bass and a matrix of guitars locks in, with a bank of horns as the cherry on the cake. Wonderful foretaste of her upcoming new album. And a live date in Whelan's in Dublin has been announced for June 17th (she's also part of the mouthwatering bill of the Primavera Sound Festival in Barcelona at the end of May), the first visit to this country in almost 18 months (tickets here - http://www.whelanslive.com/  ). Here's what I thought of...