Rating: 8/10
About 4 years ago vocalist/producer Katie Alice Greer released a very forward thinking debut album that combined Art Pop, Experimental Rock, Post-Industrial and a myriad of different sounds and styles that don’t normally work together, but somehow worked on this record. This album, which is titled Barbarism, is still unlike anything I’ve heard in music before. It’s filled with Hellish and at times, dreamy soundscapes that give the listener a nightmarish experience, but all while maintaining a sense of comfort, and providing a place for those of us fearful of the direction the U.S. is heading in a place to vent. Now, 4 years later, times are even scarier, and Katie Alice Greer has released her sophomore album Perfect Woman Sound Machine, Vol. 1. This album is no less forward thinking, with its fantastic sound collages and layers, but this album is even more all over the place in the best way possible. Jumping from the grungy Babes in Toyland-esque “Unglued,” to the Trip Hop influenced tracks which wouldn’t sound out of place on a “Tricky” record, to the stellar cover of Leonard Cohen’s “I’m Your Man,” this album is pure chaos, but a necessary chaos as it goes from lush and dreamy, to the soundtrack to the apocalypse as KAG conveys a myriad of emotions. Hey, people experience various emotions and the human brain is multifaceted, so why shouldn’t music reflect that? It’s impressive what sounds KAG can create, which is more experimental in nature and a massive departure from her former Post-Punk band “Priests,” who were fantastic by the way, I still listen to The Seduction of Kansas regularly. Judging from the album’s title, I’m assuming there will be a Vol. 2, and if that’s the case I cannot wait to hear it!
Written By: Steven Sandoval
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