For a little while there, things were looking a bit sticky for Claire Boucher, a.k.a. Grimes. After the release of her well-received debut album Visions, she returned with the single Go, a bouncing, hyper-pop track that sounded a little closer to EDM than the whispering, complex compositions she was known for. Her fanbase was not enthused, and Boucher then insisted that the track was a throwaway piece of fun rather than an official ‘comeback’.
Either way, it looked like her momentum had stalled, but her new album Art Angel’s has not so much answered her critics as grabbed them by the throat, shaken them about and sent them whimpering to the corner to think about what they’ve done. Its frighteningly impressive brand of future-pop has made it one of the year’s most impressive albums, and you’d be well advised to see her enact it live when she comes to Stockholm this February.
Grimes, Münchenbyggeriet, February 24