Sketchy - 2021 European 4AD label Limited Edition Blue Vinyl 11-track LP

Tune-Yards’ last release i can feel you creep into my private life, was a self-reflexive question mark at the end of a decade of outspoken, polyphonic indie music.  From 2009 to 2018, Tune-Yards (both Merrill and her partner and collaborator Nate Brenner) released four critically acclaimed albums, travelled the world relentlessly to play live shows, and composed the psychedelic score to Boots Riley's surrealist cinematic masterpiece Sorry To Bother You.  "We had really been non-stop hustling," Merrill reflects.  "And when we're hustling, we're complicit in all of the systems that I really don't believe in."

Interrogating these systems and her role within them had left Merrill feeling heavy with guilt and grief and lost about how to move forward as a musician.  But then she began to rediscover the joy in making music.  Inspired by the Beastie Boys Book and Questlove’s Creative Quest, Merrill and Nate began jamming daily for hours in their home rehearsal studio “like athletes”.  They ditched computer screens for live instruments (Merrill on drums, Nate on bass) and before long full songs started to emerge.

Unlike the lyrical introspection of previous outing i can feel you..., on sketchy. Merrill balances self-inspection and reflection with bombastic rallying cries, reminiscent of the furious tones of early days Tune-Yards.  The result is a colorful and joyous record with lyrics that cut to the bone.  "I started remembering that people come to us to be entertained, to move, to feel joy.  And together, I think, we can wake up.”

This is the limited blue vinyl issue - complete with printed inner sleeve and die picture picture cover. 

Tracklisting:

Side 1.

1. Nowhere, Man

2. Make It Right.

3. Hypnotized

4. Homewrecker

5. Silence Pt. 1 (When We Say "We")

6. Silence Pt. 2 (Who Is "We"?)

Side 2.

1. Hold Yourself.

2. Sometime

3. Under Your Lip

4. My Neighbor

5. Be Not Afraid.

Recorded at BotCave
Mastered, Lacquer Cutting at Sterling Sound
Mixed at Spillway Sound
 

Technical Credits:

Joe Nino-Hernes - Lacquer Cutting

Joe LaPorta - Mastering

Eli Crews - Mix

Merrill Garbus, Nate Brenner - Recording engineer

Artwork:

Merrill Garbus - Plant Photography

Pooneh Ghana - People Photography

Mike Zimmerman - Artwork, Layout