Tune Yards - Real Live Flesh

is the extravagant pseudonym taken by lone producer Merrill Garbus. Luckily, she is not only adventurous with typography; experimenting with a digital voice recorder, loop pedals, distorted drums and a tickle of base, new single ‘Real Live Flesh’ is hauntingly minimalistic.

What truly warms this atmospheric assembly is Garbus’ eerie falsetto vocals. Using multiple loops sung in different keys, listeners are lulled into a mesmeric mindset before being awoken by choral crescendos. Ethereal harmonies give an appropriately mythical quality to the lyrics, ‘I’ve been away so long you love me only in your dreams, but wake up!’

The African influenced tribal chorus can be heart-warming, but at times the nonsensical noises can feel irritating. Animalistic ‘ah ahh ohh ohh eeh eeh’ noises merely aggravate, sounding like a monkey lowering itself into a hot bath. When used correctly though, these vocals are all the more spell bounding due to the sparse production aesthetic.