tUnE-yArDs uses unique beats to get fans on their feet
What do you get when you mix innately danceable melodies, worldbeat-influenced indie pop and a stage show that is colorful in all senses of the word? tUnE-yArDs.
With a name stylized like an early aughts AOL screenname and a sound that can’t accurately be compared to anyone else’s, tUnE-yArDs is the musical brainchild of Merrill Garbus, who uses her command of percussion and her versatile, sometimes androgynous voice to create wholly unique music that completely engages the listener’s ears and mind.
Many of tUnE-yArDs’ songs are built off Garbus’ drumming, combining contemporary and Afro-pop sounds. In live performances, Garbus stands front and center, singing into the microphone while drumming on a two-piece kit, her energy building up and exploding like a tea kettle.
Garbus also employs vocal techniques common in a capella music, using tracks of her own voice to add to create a high-energy sound that makes it nearly impossible for listeners not to at least bob their heads.
tUnE-yArDs’ songs are also lyrically complex, employing frequent wordplay, short anecdotes and even a line of Haitian Creole in recent single “Water Fountain.” Garbus said while the music always came naturally, writing lyrics is more challenging for her. She often looks to poetry, theater and her favorite writers for inspiration and guidance on “how people use words,” as well as to current pop music to remind her of what she doesn’t want to do.
“I worked really hard on the lyrics” for tUnE-yArDs’ latest album “Nikki Nack,” Garbus said. “That’s a very challenging thing for me, even loving hip-hop for so much of my life, it would take me so long to pay attention to what the words were because I was always so focused on the beats.”
While Garbus’ lyrics are interesting and complex, they don’t hit the listener over the head. It will often take a few listens to realize the lyrical density under the light, fun beats.
That, in addition to Garbus’ electric stage performances, make tUnE-yArDs a joy to listen to and watch. During a December performance on “Conan,” Garbus started the song clapping and drumming the beats with, under a shock of blue hair and metallic face paint. Garbus’ energy swelled along with that of the music, all while keeping the beat behind the drum kit.
tUnE-yArDs’ infectious sound isn’t anything close to what you’ll hear when you turn on the radio, but once you hear it, it’s hard to keep from moving. The uninitiated shouldn’t be afraid to introduce themselves to the innovative indie pop band, playing the Music Farm on Thursday, April 2.
“Get ready to dance your pants off and have a great time,” Garbus said. “There will be strange songs that you may not have heard before, but we’re trying to make music that people can go out and have a really fun night to. It just hits you and you can have a fun time dancing to it.”
If you go: tUnE-yArDs, Music Farm, 1022 Senate St., Thursday, April 2; doors at 8 p.m., show begins at 9 p.m. $19 in advance, $21 at the door. Tickets can be purchased at the Music Farm box office or on musicfarm.com
Amanda C. Coyne
This story was originally published April 1, 2015 at 9:05 PM with the headline "tUnE-yArDs uses unique beats to get fans on their feet."