Illustration by John Bricker
On past albums, Grimes created futuristic and accessible electronic music, delivering unforgettable moments of experimental grit balanced with pop hooks and dreamy soundscapes.
Released on Friday, “Miss Anthropocene” finds the worst possible middle ground between her catchy songwriting and adventurous sound design, resulting in a profoundly disappointing pile of pretentious and boring mush.
After gaining a cult following by releasing her mellow and hypnotic “Visions” in 2012, Canadian singer and producer Claire Boucher completely redefined her sound with “Art Angels,” an infectiously energetic pop album blending strange soundscapes with unforgettable songs.
Grimes spent the years between albums continuing to push her sound forward, even reimagining the distorted aggression of nu-metal on her 2018 single “We Appreciate Power,” giving fans plenty of reason to expect her next LP to be her most adventurous yet.
Instead, “Miss Anthropocene” messily regurgitates tired ideas from Grimes’ earlier albums and slaps them together into long-winded and dull songs.
Opening track “So Heavy I Fell Through the Earth – Art Mix” perfectly sets the stage for the album’s clumsy and patience-testing execution.
It uses a blend of incredible sounds, such as distorted synth bass, bright guitar licks, soft ambiance and Grimes’ airy vocals, but assembles them into a song that meanders for six minutes without growing and developing.
The production on the track also falters, especially on the chorus, where a claustrophobically compressed mix mashes all the intricate sounds into muddy slop.
Despite a fittingly weak start, “Miss Anthropocene” does have a few highlights where clean production brings catchy EDM bangers to life.
“Violence – Original Mix” gloriously updates the icy synth aesthetics of Grimes’ first albums, pairing her spacey vocals with driving bass, a massive dance beat and grand layers of bright synths.
Grimes elevates the creative instrumental with her dynamic performance, delivering irresistible melodies with a tone that swings from childish to operatic.
Unfortunately, “Violence” is the only song you might catch yourself humming after the album ends, because most of the tracks feature production so cluttered and garish that it isn’t worth getting invested in the songs themselves.
“4ÆM” should sound fantastic, switching from eerie and rhythmic verses to punky choruses that bury Grimes’ refrains under distorted guitars and break beats.
But just like on “So Heavy,” muddy mixing crushes the detailed soundscape down into cramped moments of distortion and flat dynamics.
Grimes doesn’t save the track with her vocals, delivering predictable melodies and tones that totally lack the creativity and energy of her best songs.
Unlike the well-intentioned but spotty “4ÆM,” “Darkseid” was doomed from the start.
Over insultingly cheap-sounding 808 bass and trap beats, Grimes recites edgy lyrics drenched in hilariously excessive reverb and delay, resulting in a track that sounds more like the product of a fake-edgy Tumblr user than a veteran electronic musician.
Taiwanese rapper 潘PAN takes up most of the track’s runtime with her verse, an erratic explosion of lyrics that sound more awkward than experimental, especially filtered through the ridiculous autotune Grimes added.
Confusingly, “Miss Anthropocene’s” bloated mix of uninspired trash has garnered almost universal critical acclaim, earning a five-star rating from The Independent, a B+ from Consequence of Sound and an 8.2/10 from Pitchfork.
“Miss Anthropocene” should have been a great addition to her discography and obviously most of the yes-men in music journalism are still in denial.
Hopefully, Grimes won’t take the mindless praise to heart and will reinvent her sound again next time, preferably in a way that doesn’t reach a new low.