Kim Gordon has chipped away, slowly but surely, at a career away from Sonic Youth. Play Me feels like her biggest effort to date, not quality wise, but certainly when it comes to what she feels, how she writes, and where she takes these songs. The legendary rock figure shows not just that she still has it, as many veteran performers have done in the last few years, but also provides evidence of innovation, decades on from works which still hold real, clear value. Ambition lingers still on Play Me, which is unlike anything Gordon has worked on to date. Or, at least, projects itself as such. She achieves a few moments of wonder across Play Me, namely on the opening, title track. A collection of samples and noise which are formed into experimental hip hop tones that are confident, cool, and clawing for meaning amid a sea of releases. There is too much to keep up with but make sure you find the time for Play Me.
You need no previous relationship with Gordon’s music to enjoy what she does across this latest solo album. Strong, stream of consciousness writing is what she offers for much of Play Me, particularly on Girl With a Look. Experimental does not mean aimless. There is a core sense of loss across it. Not a longing, romanticised feeling but a guttural want of a return for someone. There is love there but it sounds platonic, sincere, too. Parts of Play Me feels more like snippet work, cuttings that were never quite formed into a better track but are, at the very least, worthy of inclusion. It happens with No Hands and Black Out, the latter leaning much heavier into this trap beat Gordon is willing to test. Her vocal work suits it, the rough and harrowing instrumental sound teases darker material than Gordon ever writes up here but it’s a balance that she features well. Some of these commentaries feel a little on the nose, and aren’t written all that well. No prize for figuring out where the rage is aimed at on Dirty Tech. A target worth hitting against but not all too convincing from Gordon.
Still, there is reason to praise her experimental skill and the perception she has for a new genre. There are those who have been around the hip hop genre, working in broader strokes, granted, but not quite settling on a sound as strong as this. Not Today is the first notable moment for Gordon here. That fine blur of instrumental quality and lyrical authority is what she finds here and on Busy Bee too. Menacing but measured in its brutality. That’s what Play Me is all about, finding the balance between the industrial crunch underscoring the hip hop core, and often outspoken, strong lyrical work from Gordon. That latter point serves the album less as it runs, more because the shorter songs lend themselves to repetition rather than story. A bold change, but one which works well.
Play Me picks up in its latter stages, and after the interest built in its first few songs, Gordon delivers a worthy pay-off. The brevity of the album is reason to listen in, too. You’ll be unlikely to head back into this album, but the final stretch of industrial noise, the tension and machine-like overview brought on by Gordon, is outstanding work. Sounds usually heard alongside the flashing of a warning light, and Gordon has much to alarm her listeners to with this album. A striking piece of work from the long-serving instrumentalist, whose lyrical choices take a backseat to the rigorous and often alarming instrumental sound. More an experiment in sound than in her lyrical choices, but hearing the harshness and that brutal tone come to life in the latter half is a thrilling time.
