To Seek Is To Be Found

Alicia Walter “Prelude”

The thing that startled me about this Alicia Walter song – yes, startled! – is when the song moves into the chorus and it’s suddenly firmly in Animal Collective territory, with the hook accurately simulating one of their signature moves. You know that thing when they do that staccato bashing, a little like a whole bunch of people clapping together metal garbage can lids, and a lot like robots jumping on a trampoline? It’s abrasive but also whimsical and childlike. It’s that thing, but in the context of a song that’s sung with an elegance and grace that’s closer to, say, Anohni or Regina Spektor. (Though when she wilds out a bit, it’s more Tune-Yards.) Walter is combining a lot of sounds that were fashionable in the late ‘00s and arriving at something that sounds fresh and new, as though she only ever heard the similarities in these things but not the differences. And the shared spirit she’s tapping into here is really about a boldness of sound and a refusal to hold back overwhelming emotions. It’s full expression without restraint, and a willingness to get colorful and ridiculous in the service of the feeling.

Buy it from Bandcamp.