My Drive Thru

And also check out Santogold's single with Julian Casablancas of the Strokes and rappers N.E.R.D, "My Drive Thru".  Originally recorded for a Converse campaign, the song really is a blend of Santogold's music (however unclassifiable it is), the Strokes' indie alternative rock, and N.E.R.D.'s diverse rap.  The three-note pulsating guitar riff is nothing special, but less is more: it hypnotizes you and only changes key, once.  We get a taste of everything, and are whipped from Pharrell's Prince-like falsetto verses to a melodius Casablancas singing over bell-like synthesized chords, right back to a fierce Santogold whining at the listener with her signature bleak, stark vocals that cohere with her electronica-rock-dub-hiphop sound and make you want to scream them back at her.  

And it has the best Santogold-Casablancas-NERD line ever: "I may look young but your game is prepubescent."

Santogold

Imagine M.I.A. and Beck had a lovechild, and that child grew up in the 80s, and lived across the street from Feist and upstairs from TV on the Radio, and spent her pre-adolescent years sitting in her room with a Walkman and a pair of headphones on. And then the child became an immensely talented lyricist. And then spent years working in the music industry before recording her own album. This child would be named Santogold.

Santogold (aka Santi White) released her self-titled debut album last April. It is an amalgam of about a trillion different genres. It is delicious. Every song seems to allude to a different group of artists. The opening track, "L.E.S. Artistes," could be a Yeah Yeah Yeahs single. Taken out of context, the instrumentals of "Lights Out" and "You'll Find A Way" could have been recorded in 1987. "Creator," a highlight of the album, begins with a fast-paced jazz drum line but quickly descends into complete hip-hop/electronic-dom. A reggae guitar lick and electric rock instrumentals are seamlessly combined in "Shove It," another standout track, in which Santogold clearly defines herself as a fringe artist, calling mainstream music a "joke."

Perhaps the album is best defined by the chorus of "Creator": "Me, I'm a creator / Thrill is to make it up / The rules I break got me a place / Up on the radar."

Though on occasion the album comes dangerously close to being overly-eclectic, Santogold's distinctive vocals, firm grasp of a wide variety of genres and fearlessness in combining all of her influences makes her an artist to watch.

Get the whole album. Now.

ITUNES LINK: Link