More about: Kim Gordon

No Home Record is the debut album from former Sonic Youth frontwoman Kim Gordon. Taking influence from a wide variety of genres, it highlights Gordon’s refusal to conform to one particular sound, even after 30 years in the music business.

Opening the album is ‘Sketch Artist’, which instantly highlights the wide shift away from Gordon’s typical sound. The track leads in with elegant usage of violin before exploding into heavy bass tones that permeate the majority of the track. Following this is ‘Air BnB’, which takes a more familiar turn, with Gordon making regular use of screeching guitars. The bass within the track is used as a backdrop, as the guitar tones swell and build before triggering a highly intense chorus. This sense of intensity is something that spreads through the entirety of the record.

Kim’s versatility is highlighted again in ‘Don’t Play It’. The track radiates a sound that could be viewed as somewhat reminiscent of a typical techno or dance track, with Gordon making explicit use of looping drum beats and repeated vocals. It gives the record a sense of diversity and a refusal to stick with tested formulas.

That’s not to say No Home Record doesn’t demonstrate a softer side, though. This is made clear with ‘Earthquake’, most notably through the introduction of guitar, with it building a clear sense of emotion whilst never losing its established sense of intensity. The guitar tones progress through the track and become a behemoth of noise by the closing stages, expanding on an ever-present sense of dread and ominousness. Ending the record is ‘Get Yr Life Back’. Reaching an ominous crescendo, with Gordon’s inclusion of harrowing sound effects permeating the track, it’s a fittingly unsettling closer.

No Home Record is an eclectically unsettling record. Refusing to define itself by one genre, it incorporates a wide variety of musical tropes whilst staying true to the mindset that is punk. It highlights Gordon’s lack of fear in trying new sounds and demonstrates her undeniable relevancy in the modern musical sphere.

No Home Record is released on 11 October 2019 via Matador Records.

More about: Kim Gordon