Since the demise of Sonic Youth in 2011, Kim Gordon has stayed active through multiple outlets, through all of which she has rejuvenated her experimental outlook. Alongside Bill Nace in Body / Head, they have explored the no-wave aesthetic in its full glory, through minimalism and noise. But, it is also her solo project that has found Gordon at her finest. Her debut full-length, No Home Record saw Gordon embrace an electronica and trip-hop sound, verging on hip-hop identity, while still clinging heavily to the early days experimentation of Sonic Youth. This motif continues now with The Collective, in a more focused and determined approach.
There is no denying the influence of experimental hip-hop this time around. What started as an aspect of No Home Record, has become a pivotal force. From the start of “BYE BYE” this illbient, decadent sense comes to the surface. It infects everything, from the beat groove to Gordon’s cadence. On one end hard-hitting, invoking the glory days of Death Grips, while on the other hand eyeing the elusive quality of clipping. and their introverted ambiance. The former calls upon the anxiety-inducing onslaught of “The Believers” with its hard noise and intricate beats. At the same time, the latter lets in an aura of dark mystery on top of “The Candy House” and the downplayed trip-hop aspirations of “Shelf Warmer.” There are even times when more modern applications come into play, with aspects of trap making an appearance in the opening track.
Yet, all this is not to say that Gordon has simply pivoted toward hip-hop. She has instead used the modern implementations of the scene as a lens for her no-wave identity. The background through “BYE BYE” reveals as much, where the solid beat is accompanied by a rich sonic tapestry, a mosaic stitched together under the guise of noise and distortion. Similarly, there is a healthy dose of shoegaze that accommodates Gordon’s direct rhythmic approach. “I Don’t Miss My Mind” contorts towards a My Bloody Valentine type of warm distortion. It is something that engulfs this detached perspective in a more obtuse and bleak ambiance through sonic manipulation, be it through the laid-back setting of “Trophies” or the more brutal machinations of “It’s Dark Inside.”
There are further layers of abstraction that Gordon toys with, further tightening her experimental grasp on the structure of The Collective. The switches between set structure and more elusive, stream-of-consciousness methods create a great contrast in “I’m A Man.” It is a similar approach, taking this deconstructed route and unleashing something as off-kilter as “Psychedelic Orgasm,” where the modern-day hip-hop applications (stream-of-consciousness narrative, faraway autotuned utterings) are just weapons in this expansive sonic arsenal. Even fragments of Sonic Youth's past find their place within Gordon’s vision. “Tree House” features a detached, remote distorted riff, constantly appearing as an echo from Daydream Nation, while the progression of “Dream Dollar” takes a cue from the punk lineage.
With The Collective, Gordon produces a work that stands on two fronts. Firstly, it is a very direct and immediate record, featuring tracks that are captivating, immersing, and hard-hitting. But secondly, in going through this process of expansion and taking on more influences, Gordon can withstand being consumed by them. She is the one who instead consumes these disparate elements, making them her own. I’d say that there are very few established artists who are capable of performing this feat at this stage of their career, and that is the real accomplishment here.
