One can always count on Merrill Garbus to turn the page with tUnE-yArDs, always pushing new boundaries of sound that is so many things at once, yet very much a singular sound that only she could create. On January 19 Garbus returned with her fourth album I Can Feel You Creep Into My Private Life, which was released via 4AD. The new record sees Garbus incorporate more electronic elements to her vast array of musical influences that play with folk, pop, and many other genres.
On March 9 she brought her tour in support of the new LP to a sold out Brooklyn Steel. This was a much larger room than when I caught her at Music Hall of Williamsburg in 2014 during her tour for Nikki Nack. But Garbus’ trajectory has always been up, up, up and her new expansive sound certainly filled out Brooklyn Steel with ease. These days she’s only backed by longtime bassist Nate Brenner as well as new drummer Hamir Atwal, who helped fill out her sound to perfection. To navigate and blend the sounds of the new songs and the old ones into one collective whole isn’t always easy, but they sure made it seem so with the way they precisely molded the set into one delicious and eccentric whole.
In fact, one security guard at the venue came over to me and asked what genre of music it was. The fact that it took me more than a few words to offer him my answer, and the fact that he was curious enough to ask, really does say it all about the singular sound that tUnE-yArDs has down pact.
Find the full setlist posted below along with a photo gallery from both Xenia Rubinos and tUnE-yArDs sets.
Xenia Rubinos:
tUnE-yArDs:
tUnE-yArDs Setlist:
1. Home
2. Look at Your Hands
3. ABC 123
4. Water Fountain
5. Es-So
6. Powa
7. Now as Then
8. Colonizer
9. Coast to Coast
10. Honesty
11. Gangsta
12. Heart Attack
Encore:
13. Bizness
14. Free
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