Micachu And The Shapes / Never
Album: Never   Collection:Missing
Artist:Micachu And The Shapes   Added:Jul 2012
Label:Rough Trade Records  

Recent Airplay
1. Jan 27, 2022: deep storage
Ok
2. Sep 09, 2017: Homeroom
Low Dogg

Album Review
Trent Kay
Reviewed 2012-09-28
Micachu is Mica Levi. She makes "experimental art pop", unhinged carnival style. Short explorations in cute, off-kilter alarmist pop that derail as soon as they get tolerable. There's something vaguely downbeat Beatlesy going on in the melodies (the accent helps), but everything's so glitchy and sped up or slowed down or looped or whatnot... it's its own thing. RIYL Tuneyards, Deerhoof, DIrty Projectors, Black Dice, MIA, hell, Lily Allen.

try: 4, 9, 1, 7, 14
no FCCs

*1. (1:49) cowbell, broken record loops "just leave the rest to me". nice balance of high and deep tones. cutely zany.
2. (1:38) rapid light percussion and equally speedy vox. thin and robotic.
3. (1:56) flat strumming, light video game noise, echoey reverb vox. trashcan drums. FADES INTO TRACK 4.
*4. (2:49) melodic, boppy, mellow. some tape loop moments (don't worry!), but on the whole restrained.
5. (3:31) slightly heavier industrial sound, "taxman" style melodies.
6. (2:41) gear-up! layered synth squeegies and cute pop drums under a lazy, lazy melody. MIA-ish.
*7. (2:25) washy cloud harmonies, wheezy organ, fuzz fuzz fuzz. daydreamy.
8. (2:58) harder faster. jagged two-note melody. insistent, driving, not much of the crazy here.
*9. (1:32) yes! i mean, aside from the fact that i can't listen to this and not see the fantastic music video. tick-tocky gossipy airhead arrangement sums up the title perfectly.
10. (1:19) forgettable, pleasant melody cuts to funny telephone samples. ends on annoying (dial) tone.
11. (0:47) soothing, pretty interlude. beatlesy. birds in the background. ends abruptly.
12. (4:12) loungey, noir. deep drum rolls and cheesy jazzy bass. blown-out levels.
13: (4:57) lilty, melancholy whine. 'ooh's, bird noises, whistles. the enchanted tiki room remixes therapy.
*14. (2:36) oh boy. frenetic breathing, jungle drums, interjected call backs, bash bash bash. a ride.

Track Listing
1. Easy   8. Heaven
2. Never   9. You Know
3. Waste   10. Glamour
4. Slick   11. Top Floor
5. Ok   12. Fall
6. Low Dogg   13. Nothing
7. Holiday   14. Nowhere