Review Summary: lil drmr / big scrmr
We all have our “I knew/saw/
heard of them before they were cool” stories to annoy and out-hipster our friends with, right? Sasami is one of those artists for me. I caught the ex-member of every phoebebridgerscore band in her solo singer-songwriter incarnation some four years ago, before she had released any recorded music. Her knack for melody and
gazed-out spaced-out songs was highly mesmerising and caused me to click ‘follow’ on whatever social media platforms people used back in the ancient days of ‘18. Fast forward a year, Sasami had released her lovely self-titled debut album and enraptured theneedledrop and Pitchfork readers alike. I’m not necessarily telling you this in an attempt to out-hipster you (although, you know, please realise that I’m
cool af), but also to indicate that I hit ‘play’ on the brand new
Squeeze without having heard any of the pre-release singles.
And, uh, yeah,
what?! Opener ‘Skin A Rat’ sets the tone, and it’s the exact opposite of Sasami’s previously established, sugary-sweet dream pop tone. In with grooves and screams, out with adjectives like ‘ethereal’ and ‘subtle’. Thankfully, ‘Skin A Rat’ is highly enjoyable in its completely unexpected chaos and manages to shatter any expectations one might have of
Squeeze in just under three minutes. Moreover, the opening cut winds up being the record’s most ferocious tune, and affords every other song a template to draw from: ‘Say It’
grooves harder than it has any right to; ‘Squeeze’ filters Sasami’s dreamy tendencies through a metallic filter; ‘Sorry Entertainer’ intertwines
screms and a highly unnecessary but vaguely alluring guitar solo in a unique manner. While this structure renders the album highly cohesive, it also exposes several flaws by presenting its most interesting moments early on. As ‘Skin A Rat’ showcases Sasami’s
hevvy tendencies at their most intense, every subsequent song failing to reach these heights leaves a bit to be desired and appear to hinge on surprise as opposed to sheer intensity. As inherently daring as it is, the record would have fared better had it taken even more risks rather than peddling a highly enjoyable yet relatively safe middle ground.
Moreover,
Squeeze rarely uses Sasami’s greatest strength to its advantage: the musician’s voice. Save for the grungy ‘The Greatest’ and the contextually subdued ‘Tried To Understand’, her vocals are frequently run through several layers of distortion to match the record’s aesthetic. While this choice makes sense for the overall experience, it also prevents any hauntingly beautiful moments from transpiring (see the debut’s ‘Pacify My Heart’, ‘Free’). Thankfully, whenever
Squeeze threatens to get boring or truly disappointing, it introduces a new melody, groove, or pattern that is catchy enough to carry the album’s momentum. In spite of the uniquely punk-y take on dream pop leaving a fair bit of room for improvement, Sasami’s second album stands tall as an exploration of new possibilities and hints at a bright, abrasive future for the artist. Oh, and I knew about her before you did. Hah.
