KIM GORDON
The Collective (Matador)
I could listen to Kim Gordon reciting the phone book, as the old saying goes. Which is fortunate, really, given that BYE BYE, the opening track and lead single from her second solo LP, The Collective, finds her reeling off her travel packing list.
Quite where she’s going is unclear, but what’s certain is that The Collective is another departure and that she’s getting further and further away from Sonic Youth. Rather like Low’s collaborations with BJ Burton, Gordon’s creative partnership with uber-producer Justin Raisen continues to yield arresting results: fractured, blown-speaker dub; the metallic friction of analogue and digital grinding against each other; pin-sharp takedowns of consumerism and repressed incels.
There’s no disputing that The Collective is a challenging listen – the uncompromisingly deconstructive impulse is occasionally too much to take – and I’m not sure I can forgive Raisen for running some of her vocals through Auto-Tune. But, while her ex-husband seems most comfortable dwelling on the past, Gordon has her sights firmly fixed forwards.
words BEN WOOLHEAD