By manipulating and layering her own voice, experimental electronic artist Katie Gately presents a mutant chorus on her debut LP, the chaotic yet mellifluous Color, which arrives courtesy of the Tri-Angle imprint.
Piling on found sounds and noise, the producer emphasizes a "more is more" approach to music, always making sure that there is a melody or something approachable for her audience to latch onto. Opening track "Lift" immediately slides right into her "49 percent obnoxious and 51 percent fun" ethos, with punishing salvos of noise and obliquely presented vocals that only relent to a beat-meets-melody pattern when Gately deems the listener has had enough. Songs like "Tuck" and "Sift" are slightly less devastating, focusing more on form and rhythm, the noise serving as ornament. With its sparse and emotive piano line, "Rive" is an outright turn to the dark side, and "Frisk" is nearly as deep.
"Sire" and the uncanny title track (listen for the Donald Duck-like vocals near the end) are punctuation marks to a work of art that is both terror-inducing and just plain danceable. Color certainly announces Katie Gately as a force to be reckoned with, a true auteur with a singular — and highly listenable — vision.
(Tri-angle Records)Piling on found sounds and noise, the producer emphasizes a "more is more" approach to music, always making sure that there is a melody or something approachable for her audience to latch onto. Opening track "Lift" immediately slides right into her "49 percent obnoxious and 51 percent fun" ethos, with punishing salvos of noise and obliquely presented vocals that only relent to a beat-meets-melody pattern when Gately deems the listener has had enough. Songs like "Tuck" and "Sift" are slightly less devastating, focusing more on form and rhythm, the noise serving as ornament. With its sparse and emotive piano line, "Rive" is an outright turn to the dark side, and "Frisk" is nearly as deep.
"Sire" and the uncanny title track (listen for the Donald Duck-like vocals near the end) are punctuation marks to a work of art that is both terror-inducing and just plain danceable. Color certainly announces Katie Gately as a force to be reckoned with, a true auteur with a singular — and highly listenable — vision.
