★★★★☆
Mica Levi has been an off-putting presence since her vacuum-sampling, cacophonous and wildly experimental
Jewelleryarrived at the end of last decade. It’s kind of her thing, you might say.
Still, there is certainly some sort of method to Levi’s proverbial madness – it has led her to collaborations with the London Sinfonietta, as well as composing the award-winning soundtrack for Under The Skin. Those able to move past the at-times unsettling weirdness that abounds in her work have invariably found one of the great creative minds in contemporary British music.
This continues, as one would naturally assume it would, on Levi’s third studio album alongside cohorts Raisa Khan and Marc Pell, AKA The Shapes. It’s said that the majority of what was created on Good Sad Happy Bad was conceived through an extensive jam session, and it certainly reflects on the slow-burning build and driving use of repetition across numbers like the buzzing ‘Sad’, the screech-and-crash of ‘Unity’ and album highlight ‘Oh Baby’, which subtly hints towards Levi’s love of hip hop.
After a three-year absence, Levi and co. have resumed business as if they were never gone. They continue to be an acquired taste, but one nevertheless bursting with flavour.
Good Sad Happy Bad byMicachu And The Shapesis out through Rough Trade/Remote Control.
