Written By Britt Lyle II aka Mr. 953
One of the things I like to do after listening to a new album, especially from an artist who’s considered one of my top 3 favorites, is to “marinate” in the music before I settle on a final judgement. Sometimes I love an album the first time and after a few more times I might be disappointed somehow that enthusiasm didn’t carry over. Other times I’ll be disappointed with a record and purposefully come listen for months only to come back with a different mentality and realize it was a great album all along. After the first listen of 99¢, I wasn’t quite sure where exactly on that spectrum I stood.
Filled with mixed feelings, mostly positive, but certainly mixed throughout, an initial review of the album was written almost immediately. However, after the “marination” ran its course and reflecting upon my emotionally and mentally charged review, I came to realize I was too preoccupied with my own expectations of the album rather than just listening to what the album is. When it came to second spin of Santigold’s newest record, my mixed feelings sorted out more positively. In fact, the entire album is rather brilliant, if not her her most brilliant to date. Or for lack of a better phrase: “So damn gold.”
This approximately 45-minute, electro-indie pop record credits numerous producers on its tracks and it shows. Each song seems to give off its own energy, leading me to believe at first the track list did not flow nearly as well and all together as per her previous two records. However, it’s because there is such a diversity to each song that all lend together to creative a different sound, a different type of flow all together.
As a fan, I was naturally excited to find out Santigold was in the studio all of 2015 recording a new albums, posting pictures of people she was working with and visibly having a great time during the production. The announcement of her album AND release of her first new single “Can’t Get Enough Of Myself” made me beyond ecstatic, giving me a taste of what 99¢ will bring. The song have off the a similar “Santi” flair to her debut album, perhaps this comparison it what first would lead me astray down the line. It was the perfect “I love myself” song, especially in the culture and generation of GPOY.
However, that same enthusiasm dissipated somewhat when her second single “Who Be Lovin Me” dropped about a month later. I decided not to listen to the single until the music video along side my roommate, who’s not as big a fan but enough to qualify. As the music video played we sat in utter silence, the featured rapper ILoveMakonnen began his off-key singing and lethargic rapping for the first part of the song. About 100 seconds into the song, Santigold finally started verse. In hindsight, I’ve grown to appreciate the song realizing the heavy satirization of the current mainstream and even some middlestream middle. A simple bass, kick, synths and lyrics could be the next big thing across the US, even the world. But at the time, my roommate and I were rather confused and disappointed by the song’s overall laziness with seemingly almost no creative thought at all. Santigold was better, much better than a song like this I thought at the time.
Her next two singles give me a huge sign of relief, remedying any doubts I’d previous had from the last single. My faith was restored when “Chasing Shadows” was released, arguably her strongest single on the album and overall in her discography. It was this song that reminded me the most of her self-titled debut album: lyrically packed, melodically intriguing and vocally superb. “Banshee” was an bouncy, infectious twist full of cheerleader-esqe energy, just shy of being a pop hit while still carrying her uniquely Indie sound that was genuinely “Santigolden.” This is song you play on repeat when you’re having a good day or going to do some Zumba.
One thing I’ve always applauded Santigold for is not just her eccentric artistic sense, intriguing vocals, sometimes esoteric lyrics, and uniquely produced tracks, it was her “dare to be different” attitude and loving herself for that. No matter what she did visually, artistically, sonically, it was authentically her. At this point, I was not understanding something about the album, leading me to believe that was something fundamentally off about the album; there was a purposeful audible inconsistency reverberating through the record and it was this point I was missing that would bring everything into an understandable light.
By removing my preconceived expectations of the album and merely listened for what it was, I began to fully understand what Santigold was trying to convey. This is a concept album about consumerism and the commodification of literally everything: food, music, house products, electronics, even people, herself included. The album itself is a 99¢ store, each of its track a different product to be sold and consumed cheaply to the masses. A statement that can be seen as a comment on the arguable decline of popular music that is made just as quickly and low-quality as certain you’d find your local 99¢, despite the few gems that may or may not pop up once an awhile. This is symbolic of certain items being made better than others even thought both are sold at the same price; some music has obviously more production value, overall quality, and effort made into than others.
It’s the lack of “flow” and “consistency” from track to track is what made the records slightly off kilter, purposefully so, throwing off my initial assessment. Each producer, action like manufacturers, created a production that will inevitably be sold in the same store for the same price. As I stated at the beginning of this review, I guessed that maybe I’d listen again only to realize this was her best records and that I misjudged all along. This is exactly what happened until I fully grasp the concept and the meaning of the album. The packing felt cheap, the delivery felt cheap, the production felt cheap making the feel of the album, by Santigold standards, ultimately cheap. And that the point, the message, the blessing in disguise, the cheapness today can be seen as brilliant. Santigold created a concept that was meta onto itself and forged a record that is just cheap as it it authentically brilliant, showing tremendous artist growth and talent.
Sorting through pool of my thoughts, I’m reminded of a photo of Santigold herself, soon after the release of her debut album, with a sign reading “I Believe in Santigold.” Over 8 years in the music scene and people still are unable to recognize her brilliance. I’ve always seen myself as a supporter of the underdog, especially if they uniquely showcase talent. Her best album? Her worst album? Whatever. Either way, I Still Believe In Santigold. And this will be the “love it or hate it” album. There cannot be an in-between. Either one feels the meta-authenticity of the record and is turned off by the lack of substance or one is able to apprehend Santigold’s true message and become astonished with the level of thought process of this project.
I, for one, surely will give her applause yet again for this record. One of her best yet.
