The quiver to the bomb didn't take long

Continuing my trip up The Guardian's Best Albums of 2020 list...

#32 : Forever, Your Girl - KeiyaA

Chicago artist KeiyaA’s self-produced debut took you swimming inside her head. Calling to mind the insularity of John Carroll Kirby’s work with Solange and Eddie Chacon, Forever, Ya Girl spirals around murky thickets of R&B, harmonised incantations and stilted beats that mustered a sense of off-kilter propulsion. In contrast to that dreamlike haze was KeiyaA’s clarity of thought. She sang with an intimacy that conveyed the real-time growth of thoughts from instinct to decision, her hurt at the hands of bad men and racists calcifying into defiance. The music sounds like escapism; KeiyaA’s lyrical philosophy lays out a path by which one might truly escape.

Never heard of her, so had no idea what to expect - especially after I'd read the description above.  And actually, I'd suggest a lot of the album defies description ("murky thickets, harmonised incantations and stilted beats" is probably as good as any, to be honest) but, whereas I've been slightly rude about similar stuff in past reviews, I actually quite liked a lot of this.  Re-reading my reviews, it seems like the ladies that produce this kind of stuff get off much more lightly than the gents - I would suggest that generally my preference is for a female voice, so that makes sense.  There's nothing wrong with being biased as long as you know you're biased, that's what I say!

KeiyaA sounds like she might be an interesting individual (not least around how you actually pronounce her name) but neither she nor the album have a Wikipedia page, so it's just too hard for me to look into.  "Customers also listened to" a load of other people who I suspect fly similarly under the radar but I suspect I might like if I put the effort in to find out.  All in all, an intriguing album which isn't going to be on constant repeat, but I just might be in the mood for it from time to time.

#31 : Heavy Light - U.S. Girls

Heavy Light surveys life and finds a rigged game at every step, from birth to work and ultimately death at the hands of environmental apocalypse. Meg Remy is pictured with a little kid on the cover – a symbol of hope, you might think, but then biological and natural maternal relationships turn out to be corrupted, too. Interludes where people recall the colour of their bedroom wall are next to songs about the insignificance of human history in the grand scheme of the universe. Yet Heavy Light made good on both halves of its name, contrasting those crushingly depressing perspectives with loose, sun-streaked funk and soul and strutting choruses – the sound of people in a room, finding hope where they can.

I'd heard of U.S. Girls but never knew whether it was "U.S. Girls" or "Us Girls", so I guess we can say I wasn't exactly an afficionado.  And having read the above, I was (in true Guardian reviewer style) completely mystified as to what I was going to get.  But given that it's another female vocalist, she's in for an easy ride, right?!?

Well "ish", I guess.  The general effect is inoffensive and it features some nice sounding bits, but overall I found it all a bit nondescript and hard to describe.  Not in a "WTF is this?" way that we've experienced on some of these albums but more "Hmmm - who does this sounds like?" way.  Some of it quite Fleetwood Mac-ish, some of it is more funky but then you get hints of Kate Bush.  None of which is repellant but it didn't exactly draw me in either and I also found the vocals annoyingly understated at times - it was like "speak up, woman!"  And the interludes are just odd, being random vox pops overlaid with each other - I'm sure they're supposed to say something to someone, but they didn't say anything to me.  

Wikipedia told me nothing about the album or U.S. Girls other than they're a one-woman outfit who create "experimental pop" - and I'd have to say I'm not convinced it's all that experimental.  "Customers also listened to" a load of people I'd never heard of except for Haim who turn up again (I imagine Guardian reviewers like Haim) but again I can see the similarity.  So, it's not horrible, but I'm not sure I see what makes it stand out for some people.  Nice album cover though!

#34/33 - Not convinced by either of these
#30/29 - So much potential