MOG Editorial Review

After announcing herself as avant-pop's latest wunderkind when she released Bird-Brains in 2009, singer-songwriter Merrill Garbus has made her sound, bigger, better, and weirder on w h o k i l l, her sophomore album. While her debut album was full of ukulele-driven, off-kilter rhythms, Garbus is determined to go in louder, more diverse directions here, utilizing her yelping voice to great effect, even using it to provide the backbone for standout track "Bizness." Whether it's her omnipresent vocals or the thundering drums of "Gangsta," the songs here all have a relentless barrage of sound simultaneously attacking and pleasing your ears, and, as the song titles suggest, a hip-hop/R&B swagger you rarely see in such strange music. w h o k i l l will continue encouraging people to compare Tune-Yards to former tourmates the Dirty Projectors, after you take a listen, you'll agree that it's a pretty high compliment towards each forward-thinking band.