KIM GORDON
Play Me (Matador)
You can’t say it hasn’t been coming, reading between the lines of its predecessors No Home Record and The Collective, but Play Me is nevertheless remarkable due to its creator’s wholehearted embrace of pop. This being Kim Gordon, there’s snap and crackle too, of course – but guitars have been largely phased out and abrasive instincts have been largely reined in, especially on the motorik Girl With A Look and Not Today. Even more surprising is the slinky soul groove of the title track.
The record’s fiercely contemporary sound – stuttering beats, subterranean bass – is matched by whipsmart lyrics that dissect and skewer our bewildering, terrifying times: technofascism, an imploding global superpower, the devaluation of culture, environmental apocalypse. They often do so with razor wit, too. The title track pokes fun at the names of Spotify playlists, while on Bye Bye ‘25 – a remake of The Collective’s lead single – Gordon reels off terms from Donald Trump’s list of banned words (“Gulf of Mexico”, “male-dominated”, “lesbian”, “measles”) to underline its utter absurdity.
Whether its title is interpreted as a come-on, an invitation, a provocation, a taunt or a demand, Play Me is fresh, bold and incisive.
words BEN WOOLHEAD
