Grimes

Grimes, the project of Montreal-based singer-songwriter Claire Boucher, coined a surreal form of dance-pop on the cassette Geidi Primes(2010). Highlights are Feyd Rautha Dark Heart, in which her soft mantra cycles around a tribal hypnotic polyrhtyhm, and the syncopated clockwork of Vanessa, which also offers the most spectacular demo of her sensual/childish super-ethereal falsetto.

After repeating herself with less magic on Halfaxa (2011), Boucher shifted gear: Visions (2012) veered dangerously towards synth-pop of the 1980s, the fad of the moment (the tinkling and jumping Genesis, the sensual and subliminal Nightmusic, the Chinese-opera inspired Oblivion, the syncopated ballet Vowels = Space and Time).

Grimes perfected her pop mannerism on Art Angels (4AD, 2015). The jovial bouncy California has a syncopated beat and a infectious melody that David Guetta would envy. Pure fun also radiates from the summery bubblegum refrain of Flesh Without Blood, propelled by a frenzied techno locomotive amid distorted guitar drones. She ups the ante with the demonic hip-hop Scream (a collaboration with Taiwanese rapper Aristophanes, aka Wei-Ju Pan), whose quiet singing/rapping is derailed by screams and explosive distortions and constantly poisoned by an insistent blues riff, and with the hard-rocking Kill V. Maim, whose wild singing part is a cross between cheerleader chants and Chinese opera, over loud distorted guitars and pounding drums. At the other end of the spectrum are less party-oriented tunes such as the piano ballad Easily, which sounds like a dreamy version of Taylor Swift, and the rigmarole Pin, which has a refrain the evokes 1960s heroine Dusty Springfield but also a dissonant break. Somewhere in the middle are takes on electronic dance music that manage to be both derivative and eccentric at the same time, like Realiti, which invokes British synth-pop of the 1980s, and especially the disco shuffle World Princess Part II, which officiates the unlikely marriage of Madonna and Abba. The most childish exercises even recall Aqua. Janelle Monae comes on board for the more austere, adult and confrontational Venus Fly (further enhanced with tribal drums). Boucher's vocal acrobatics never steals the show despite the fact that it has become a major positive element of her songs due to its versatility and ability to shift moods within the same song. Witness how she screams her head off in the timid rigmarole of Butterfly.

Now married to tycoon Elon Musk, Grimes crafted a concept around human self-inflicted paths of extinction, Miss Anthropocene (2020). The sensual, blissed-out floating wails of So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth are the only decent addition to her canon. The pounding beat and sped-up vocals of Darkseid make for a dance novelty of rare insignificance, Violence is retro-girlish Kate Bush-influence synth-pop, Delete Forever is an odd hybrid of Nashville country-pop and a fashionable techno beat, the angelic pop-soul of You'll Miss Me When I'm Not Around and Idoru shows Janelle Monae's influence. My Name Is Dark, another pounding dancefloor number, is the catchiest song. New Gods is an original take on the torch ballad. 4aem is a frenzied blend of gypsy music and Bollywood soundtracks. Not much to remember.