If you’ve yet to check out Illuminati Hotties, the project of musician and studio polymath Sarah Tudzin, this is the album you need to hear. Featuring thirteen songs in under forty minutes, Power, IH’s latest full-length, showcases Tudzin’s masterful songwriting and production wizardry better than any of the three previous Hotties collections. It’s as if, having worked on other artists’ music for a decade now, Tudzin has gained a keen awareness of her own strengths, and with Power, she manages to harness and utilize all of them to outstanding effect.
The first minute of the first song on Power, “Can’t Be Still”, is cleverly deceptive both musically and lyrically. “I pack a punch, a firm handshake can take you so far,” Tudzin sings over a lo-fi beat, a woozy guitar riff, and casual whistling. After that first minute, however, tougher-sounding drums and power chords kick-in with the chorus, and you can feel the wheels of the plane leaving the tarmac. The speedy, upbeat “I Would Like, Still Love You” makes for a perfect fit this early in Power’s sequence. What Tudzin lacks in vocal skill, in terms of range, she makes up for in rhythmic nimbleness. As her words skip along dexterously, Sarah playfully outlines all the horrifying and embarrassing things a partner could do before affirming that it wouldn’t change the way she feels about them. Power downshifts with “Rot”, a slower number that has Tudzin singing, just above a whisper, self-deprecating lyrics about dropping the ball and wanting to be left alone. Side A ends with the excellent, uplifting “The L”. Coming out of the downhearted “Rot”, the track’s arrival feels spot-on.
The British singer and YouTuber Cavetown (Robin Skinner) features on “Didn’t”. Skinner’s melancholic and mumbly vocals are a good fit for this midtempo duet about doubt and expectation. “YSL” is a deep cut that has Tudzin making good use of herky-jerky rhythms reminiscent of those used by Boston indie bands in the early nineties. The album’s title track is Power’s penultimate song, and, while it’s not a standout moment, it does help make things feel like they’re winding down before the sad-yet-hopeful percussion-free ballad “Everything Changes” concludes the collection. When compared to the rest of Illuminati Hotties’ discography to date, Power is a high-water mark in terms of quality and consistency. Don’t sleep on this one.
Rating: 8.2/10
