Album Review - Santigold: Master Of My Make-Believe

Santigold
Master Of My Make-Believe
Rating: Grrrr

Second albums are a tricky proposition. So many bands/artists coming off a hit debut fall prey to either releasing something half-assed too quick, taking too long and losing any forward momentum and being forgotten, or going so far off the mark from their signature sound that it confounds fans. It's been four years since Santigold's debut, which in this Internet-must-have-immediately climate is practically a lifetime. In that time she has undergone a name change (there was some legal wrangling over her use of Santogold, so to placate the other side she switched to Santigold), has worked with everyone from Nick Zinner, GZA, M.I.A., Beastie Boys, Mark Ronson, and Lily Allen, but has not put out much in the way of her own material. Her debut was an amazingly assured collection of alt-rock, hip-hop, EDM, reggae, and a hundred other genres all mashed up into a smooth confection. As I mentioned, four years is a long time; enough time for Santigold to change up her sound completely and for her signature sound to become dated. I was a bit concerned when I saw that she was working with a huge array of different producers for Master Of My Make-Believe, including her original producers Diplo and Switch, along with Nick Zinner and Karen O of Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Dave Sitek of TV On The Radio, Boys Noize, and Buraka Som Sistema, thinking that the stylistic diversity might overwhelm the album. As the album title and striking cover photo demonstrate, however, Santigold is in complete control of her vision. Master Of My Make-Believe is a further honing of the sound from her debut, and while it may not reach the giddy heights of that wonderful record, it is a solid step forward for her.

Master Of My Make-Believe isn't an immediately gratifying album; there is nothing as bracing as "L.E.S. Artistes," "You'll Find A Way," or "Lights Out." In fact, it takes quite a few listens for the hooks to appear and grab you. There are actually only a few tracks that could be called singles. "Disparate Youth," which is fast becoming one of my favorite tracks of the year, marries a jaunty reggae beat with new wave blasts of guitars and washes of keyboards, adding an insistent backing to Santigold's tribute to the protests in the Middle East.



Buraka Som Sistema add a blast percussive heft to "Big Mouth" that carries Santigold's lightning fast vocal delivery.



"Freak Like Me" and "Look At These Hoes" both are aided by upbeat percussion and aggressive delivery from Santigold. Producer Switch adds his signature world beat flavor to the former, while partner in crime Diplo works with Boys Noize on the latter, arming the track with a low end throb and a variety of odd sounds from cash registers and toy whistles.





The remainder of the album finds Santigold in a more somber, serious mode. "God From The Machine" has a dark, dub-like feel, with Santigold lamenting about the rise of the Christian right,



deriding the price of fame in "Fame,"



or using the tender ballad "This Isn't Our Parade" to showcase her own unique path in life.



Aside from the twitchy opener "GO!" none of the other tracks really get the BPMs moving, and, as such, there is a hesitation at first with getting behind the record. Indeed, the middle of the record has a long stretch of mid-tempo tracks that adds weight to the album's meager 38 minute run time, and I admit made my initial pleasure with the record hard to come by. These tracks though are excellently produced and sneak up you in time. Just making the time for that to happen might be too much for the casual listener. Master Of My Make-Believe can be considered a "difficult" second album, and you will not get much of an argument from me. I will also admit that sometimes I am not willing to give a record adequate time to grow on me, but in this case, I am glad I didn't give up too easily.

Rating Scale:

Chilfos: masterpiece; coolest thing I've heard in ages.

Woof Daddy: excellent; just a hair away from being a masterpiece.

Grrrr: very good; will definitely be considered for my top releases of the year.

Yeah Daddy Make Me Want It: good; definitely invites further listens and piques one's interest for more material.

Meh: not horrible, but certainly not great; could have either been polished, trimmed, or re-thought.

Jeez Lady: what the hell happened? Just plain bad. They should hang their heads in shame and be forced to listen to Lady Gaga ad nauseam as penance.

Tragicistani: so bad, armed villagers with pitchforks and torches should run the artist out of the country for inflicting this abomination on the human race.