The season closes on an ecstatically high note with the one-of-a-kind tUnE-yArDs, project of New England native Merrill Garbus who has been called everything from “righteous with a carnival kick,” (NY Times) to “idiosyncratic, high-stakes and empowering.” (Pitchfork) Her 2011 recordWhokill is hailed as a modern classic, with a lo-fi tapestry of beats, guitars, and horns weaving around her unmistakable, fearlessly belting voice. After three years of touring she returned last May with her follow-up Nikki Nack, which casts her songwriting and voice in a candied indie pop setting, complete with a Seussian stage setup and costumes.Pitchfork praises the record for its “songs that sound like playgrounds full of street kids ricocheting off each other like bumper cars.” Garbus is a genuine tour de force and possesses the rare combination of wicked braininess with complete warmth and lack of pretense. In other words, she is very Celebrate Brooklyn!
The “free associative, raw and radical” (LA Times) experimental hip-hop duo SHABBAZZ PALACES rounds out the bill. After emerging a few years ago in a cloud of mystery, they have come to stand for a woozy, patchwork, and altogether intoxicating approach to beat-making. Together, they threaten to make this the NYC show of the summer.