LABEL: Arbutus Records
VINYL RELEASE DATE: 4/1/2016
ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: 2010
VARIANT: Black Vinyl LP
Halfaxa is Grimes' sophomore LP. Originally available as a limited CD release. Claire Boucher speaks a different language. And Halfaxa, her second album, feels like the dictionary from which we might discern just where this being comes from. Halfaxa is simultaneously more human than Geidi Primes, and yet falls deeper into a hole of mystical obscurity. The lyrics, as throughout this album, are designed to be an additional instrument, and not necessarily a device that gives obvious meaning to the proceedings. There is a strong focus on primeval and simplistic percussion to Boucher's music, though I am apprehensive to compare it directly to club music. Even with all the fog and barriers she presents us with, at the core of her music is the human heart. There is a heartbeat in every note. Her breath is often used as a percussive element. Somehow, Grimes says more about life through her methodology than through what she literally chooses to say. Like all great world music, her sound transcends language.
