Grimes – Visions

Claire Boucher (Grimes) may describe her new album, Visions, as “the future of music,” but it’s an acute awareness of the past that’s helped shape her foresight. As the face of ‘post-internet,’ her sonic references range from gothic industrial to 90s R&B, infusing each track with a unique musicality that is all her own.

The songs on Visions can be both jarring and ephemeral, but Boucher’s pop sensibility brings them back to earth. A simple two chord arpeggiator pattern serves as the back-bone to the album’s lead single “Oblivion,” which describes the dangers of a midnight stroll, but its title hints at something much more ominous. Boucher builds on the song’s simple structure by adorning it with layers of her sweet vocal harmonies, airy synth solos, and orchestral hits that may remind you of your favourite childhood cartoon “The Rugrats” (I told you her influences were diverse).

Other songs such as “Genesis” follow a similar format and prove ultimately rewarding. But it’s harsher tracks like “Eight” that showcase her weirdness at its best by way of vocal manipulation and glitchy, cyborg-like beats. The true strength of Visions, however, is Boucher’s ability to draw back on her eccentricities and allow the songs to grow on their own, inhabiting whatever sinister or luminous space they desire.