Since the end of her long time band Sonic Youth in 2011, Kim Gordon has pursued a path of unpredictability first through the improvisational drones of her experimental guitar outfit Body/Head, and then with the release of her avant-garde pop solo debut “No Home Record” way back in 2019. Yet even given her background as an iconoclast, I still think it’s safe to say none of us expected her to release something like “Bye Bye,” the first single from her sophomore album “The Collective“. A hybrid of noise rock and industrial trap, the track sets squealing guitar against an 808 pattern
Alos here’s her new video for “I’m a Man,” and a track that finds the singer/songwriter/musician/Sonic Youth icon at her most compelling: Previously, Gordon had shared a video for “BYE BYE” to preview the record. Just like “I’m a Man” this clip stars Coco Gordon Moore — Kim’s daughter with her Sonic Youth band mate Thurston Moore — and was directed by Clara Balzary, daughter of Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea.
Building on the playful experimentation of her debut, Gordon goes darker and gets weirder while sharpening the song writing, turning out social commentary via menacing din on “I’m a Man,” industrial shoegaze on “Tree House,” and dangerous levels of bass on “The Believers.” Yet through the squalls and squeals, pulses and throbs, Gordon’s effortlessly oblique beat poetry remains at the centre, the adhesive keeping together the album’s myriad chaotic moments while branding it as a work wholly her own.
The new album follows Kim Gordon’s 2019 solo debut, “No Home Record”.
Kim Gordon released “The Collective”, her second solo album, on March 8th via Matador Records.
The Fat Angel Sings 