Grimes - Miss Anthropocene - Album review

It has been a tough year for Canadian singer Grimes, who has been involved in a whole lot of drama concerning dating Elon Musk which has somewhat overshadowed her music and art. Grimes has been somewhat absent musically this year, but it could be done to her fan base being a tough crowd to please. She has battled with the need to release music for a more mainstream crowd and creating her own dark, surreal bedroom sounds. Grimes built hype by posting teasers on her Instagram and keeping everybody on their toes until the release date in February 2020. 

It has been five years since Grimes last album ‘Art Angels’ which she is not so fond of any more, which is surprising to fans who are still are. They believe then that her next piece of work is going to be out of this world. The new album contains many synth swirls, trip-hop elements, and 90’s pop mixed with modern-day chart music. The lyrics and themes speak of self-awareness and understanding the way things are. 

Grime’s announced the album title in 2019; Miss Anthropocene. The album name was something that she had been thinking about for a while and which she eventually decided her focus would be on climate change. Grimes claims climate change is not a disaster but an evil-minded bitter goddess after whom Grimes fifth album is named after, Miss Anthropocene. Grimes has always explained to the media that humans do not like climate change because they are being guilted into it without proper explanations and no one whats to feel miserable so humans automatically try and forget about it. Of course, some people still contribute to making a change, but many try to avoid the topic. Grimes said she wanted to create an artistic project which had the potential to make a difference to climate change. Her guess is that you never know until you try.

Miss Anthropocene reveals Grimes talent not only as an artist but as a producer, being able to shape-shift between different genres and structuring them in a way that sounds dreamy and unique. The album is much darker than what we have heard from Grimes before, and also comes across as quite aggressive with fusions of rock and electronic sounds. The music features challenging lyrics with many samples and loops which at times is something that is not easy on the ear. However, the music is still crafted in a way that takes you on a journey - Something grimes has always been able to successfully achieve as a one-person band.

Seray Sulun

Insta: @sspetal

Image: https://hypebeast.com/2020/2/grimes-miss-anthropocene-album-stream