First Nation

First Nation are about to reclaim their land. As their name suggests their sound is undeniably organic and rich in cultural references (one of the members is an anthropologist); these tracks evoke Native American pow-wows as much as Middle Eastern belly-dancing. These Brooklyn-based girls are the female equivalent of Animal Collective (they are label-mates and opened their winter tour) but it’s their gender that puts them in an entirely different category. There is an especially tranquil and naïve quality to their music that sets them apart. The album opens with "Awakes,” a track dedicated to rhythmic chanting in which they sing in a round robin, sounding like a psyched-out school choir warming their vocal chords. "Monkey” plays again on the strength of their vocal chords, singing the lyrics: "we were, we were water” as though a tribal chant; the track is filled out by simple guitar and drums that only help to anchor their vocals. "Swells” comes off as a tribal techno-inspired dance track, with high pitched vocals and frantic fast paced drumming. "You Can Be” is a song of inspiration, its lyrics sounding like your grade three teacher inspiring your future: "There’s so many ways you can exist/Be a teacher, have some children/Be a winner of your dream.” This is a fully realised album that claims the future of Brooklyn’s psych-folk scene for the girls and their female trance.