CD of The Week

Bartees Strange - Horror (4AD)

Bartees Strange’s calling card is his eclecticism, with music that draws from hip-hop, funk, folk, straightforward hard rock, screamo, and EDM; oftentimes in the same song. No one sounds quite like him and his list of tourmates and collaborators bear that out. In the five years since his first solo EP, Strange has opened for artists as varied as Metric, Courtney Barnett, and Thursday while playing on records for Lucy Dacus and remixing Paramore. For his third full-length, Horror, Strange enlists the help of producer du jour Jack Antonoff (Lana Del Rey, St. Vincent) for an album that feels like a deliberate attempt to level up. Luckily, his adventurous spirit and unique perspective haven’t changed.

The title of the album echoes a recurring theme throughout the twelve songs about learning to face your fears. Bartees spent his adolescence as a queer, Black teen in rural Oklahoma and that background informs the lyrics of songs like “Backseat Banton” where Strange powerfully sings that “Time’s the winner when fear’s got you nailed to a tree / the only way up for me is to break down.” He places a premium on vulnerability and as diverse as the album is sonically, every note of Horror feels personal.

Still, the range of the album can be thrilling. A particularly strong three-song stretch arrives in the middle. “Lie 95” is a soulful and introspective track about finding love, with guest vocals from Kacy Hill that add poignancy. Next is “Wants Needs,” the most anthemic tune on the album with emotional vocals, interesting lyrics about the artist-fan relationship, and a super-hooky riff that drives the song forward. Finally, “Lovers” is influenced by house and trip-hop, and the eerie distortion pairs well with the song’s painful examination of needing a partner by your side when you are at your lowest point. The rest of the album isn’t always the most consistent, but Strange is an adept and smart musician and songwriter who can rap and croon with equal skill.

Horror further cements Bartees Strange’s status as one of the most unique and diverse singer-songwriters to emerge in recent years. His imagination runs wild, but the genre-hopping rarely seems forced and is always accompanied by an admirable, open-hearted authenticity. The jury is out on whether Horror will be a further breakthrough commercially, but it is definitely a strong refinement artistically.
Review by Sol