Kim Gordon was always a curious blend of telling it like it is and keeping it elusive. She used the former as a grounding rod of dispassionately observational revelations – keeping it real – while the latter came from the ambiguous spirit of an artistic perception that thrived on radical fluidity and a sense of conceptual suspense. Gordon is known as a member of Sonic Youth, then half of the improv noise group Body/Head with Bill Nace, but Justin Raisen, her primary collaborator here, could be her best ally. The debut solo album of the art-punk pioneer – her first under her own name since the dissolution of hers and former husband Thurston Moore’s band in 2011 – was never going to be predictable, easy listening.

Like: Body/Head, Sonic Youth, Free Kitten

FCC: 6, 7, 9

Play: 2, 4, 5, 6

1.Sketch Artist (2:51) Shuddering bass and menacing declamations suddenly yield to moments of glimmering reprieve.
2.Air BnB (4:10) Jagged guitars feel uncomfortable, before exploding in the chorus.
3.Paprika Pony (4:08) Experimental hip-hop track without the rap, its catchy finger-piano bouncing against Gordon’s vocals.
4.Murdered Out (3:34) Battering, squawking maelstrom corrosive loops.
5.Don't Play It (6:26) Tumbling drum pattern submerged in hiss and woozy sub bass calls Burial to mind.
6.Cookie Butter (8:12) Grinds for six minutes of frenetic bass blasts and fierce vocal stylings keeping the whole track moving.
7.Hungry Baby (3:41) Yelping rockabilly stomp, passionate vocals spitting against the spectre of sexual harassment.
8.Earthquake (4:18) Dusky tones over drifting guitars, crescendos of cymbal wash and some crumbly electronic noise in the background.
9.Get Yr Life Back (5:25) Corrosive noise for murmured intensity, her vocals half-stumbling amidst bulging feedback.