Album Review // Kim Gordon // The Collective

Matador Records

Kim Gordon exists in dualities — aloof and immediate, transgressive and futuristic, industrial and organic. The bassist/vocalist of seminal band Sonic Youth secured her own relevance years ago in side projects like The Harry Crews and Free Kitten. Within The Collective, her second solo album, she again collaborates with  producer Justin Raisen (John Cale, Charli XCX, Yeah Yeah Yeahs) who creates the tracks' decayed trap beats which are abrasive, dissenting, and raw. Imagine the distorted bass of a passing can-mufflered Honda shaking your windows. They isolate and overwhelm. Yet Gordon's vocals drone and soothe. Her voice is iconic and provocative. She utilizes observations and list-making in lieu of traditional lyrics as in "Bye Bye." The difficulty has alway been in distinguishing if Gordon embraces popular trends or creates parodies of them. She is vulgar and esoteric — the rainbow in the pool of spilt motor oil. "Treehouse" invokes the sparse ghosts of Martin Rev and Alan Vega. "The Believers" multi-tracking harkens back to Wax Trax artists like Jim Thurwell. Overall, this release swings between creative hip-hop like Company Flow and back to the tribal feel of her own "Burning Spear." This album is definitely not vanilla, but highly enjoyable for all who can take it.