Album Review: Arca - Stretch 1 & 2

Arca
Stretch 1
Rating: Grrrr

Arca
Stretch 2
Rating: Woof Daddy

Venezuelan born, New York based producer Arca released his first EP Stretch 1 back in April on the fledgling UNO NYC label. It mainly got attention based on the creepy video for the single "Ass Swung Low," featuring the strange computer animated images of kids and babies spitting out some of the most hilariously vile words ever.



But more distinctive was the production itself, vocals low and manipulated within an each of their life, as if Tricky was brought back as a cyber-demon. The beats slowed down to an almost coma-like pulse, a dense foreboding atmosphere of drugged out paranoia. The rest of Stretch 1 does what any good debut EP should do, provide a nice overview of what the artist can do, and indicate what direction they are heading in. From the start, Stretch 1 shows that Arca is a master of atmosphere and unsettled expectations, in league with artists as diverse as Clams Casino, Nicolas Jaar, Burial, and Flying Lotus. Lead track "Dignity" drifts slightly aimlessly on a stunted beat and airy electronics before stealing a Blackstreet sample and manipulating it in unforeseen ways. From there, Stretch 1 hits on fractured hip hop ("Focus"), blunted bass heavy meditations ("DOEP"),



to haunting semi-ambient soundscapes ("Walls") before ending with the Flying Lotus-on-acid workout "Truly Carrying" which highlights Arca's dense production skills. Stretch 1 takes several listens before it truly sinks into your brain. It is almost too subtle until you really delve into its charms.

Where Stretch 1 is a perfect intro into Arca's off-kilter world, it almost does nothing to prepare you for the all-out sonic brilliance of Stretch 2. Instantly from lead track "Self Defense" the gauntlet is thrown down. Over a bass heavy bed of crisp drum programming, vocals ping pong all over the track, while a faint air of dread hovers over the proceedings.



Where Stretch 1 was languid in comparison, Stretch 2's focus is keeping you on edge. Beats form patterns that fade out and into themselves. "Focus" sounds like a machine imploding and digesting itself, while "Tapped In" settles into a dreamy fog of droning keyboards as the beats and bass get lower and more drawn out.

Stretch 2 never seems to follow any set pattern, and the first few listens can be frustrating as it becomes difficult to settle into any sort of groove. The blunted feel of the album takes flight in the middle with tracks like the punishing "Strung" and the aptly named "2 Blunted" whose vocals are so manipulated and twisted into a druggy haze you almost can smell the smoke.

Arca always has a new trick up his sleeve that confounds as well as awes. "Brokeup" in particular marries witch house, blunted beats, tortuously slow rave synth stabs, and creates a lugubrious mix that one wonders why it had never been attempted before.



And by record's end, he pulls the rug up from under you again with two amazingly complex tracks. "Meditation" combines layers and layers of keyboards that initially seem to work against one another before merging into one another, as the beats become more tribal and insistent. "Manners" takes things out on a gorgeous note, the soaring keyboards rising and crashing over a fairly muted drum program, before changing up completely at tracks end, the beats fading out into a harp-led interlude.



Stretch 1, as solid a collection of tracks that it is, left me completely unprepared for the huge leap in production skill on Stretch 2. The oddest thing about the record to me is how it sounds so much like things I have heard before, but somehow sounds fresh and new at the same time. At any rate, these two records certainly introduce a fresh, needed talent into the already too crowded electronic music field.

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.