The clouds begin to part after a dreary winter in New York City and the sun makes an appearance for the first time in weeks. You walk outside and stare at its blinding power as its warmth illuminates your face. That juxtaposing feeling of a brisk wind as the sun beams down on your exposed skin was captured on Miss Grit’s debut album, Follow The Cyborg out this Friday (February 24). After two critically acclaimed EPs, the vocalist/producer holed themselves up in their NYC apartment in order to create the 10 songs presented on the project. Through crunchy drums mixed into the album’s unpredictably entertaining song structures, the album’s animatronic presence becomes more human with every layer peeled back, making Follow The Cyborg an album deserving of your undivided attention.
The cinematic nature of this album stems from the structure of its songs. Miss Grit is able to create whirlwinds of instrumentals that build on top of each other into dense textures, each element added as vital as the next. These songs are the sonic equivalent of astral projecting, with each melody added or drum pattern dropped you are transported to a different area of your imagination. This feeling is almost instantaneous, the album’s opener “Perfect Blue” draws you in with its sweet ambiance and angelic vocals to create a pillow-like texture. You drift off in the song’s minimalism until a smooth yet hard-hitting drum pattern nods you awake and adds an edge to the otherwise gentle track. Miss Grit plays this game of push-and-pull all over the LP as they use their love of unconventional song structures to push the sonic narrative along.
Convention was completely thrown out of the window on Follow The Cyborg, for the most part. Hidden under the album’s complex textures are gorgeously penned ballads that, despite their commitment to the concept of the album, have the ability to create deep connections. Each lyric is Miss Grit’s attempt at capturing a fleeting thought, they grasp at fading memories and experiences and attempt to retell them with every little detail still intact. A moment like “Nothing’s Wrong” brings this listening experience back into our atmosphere. The down-to-earth nature of its lyrics adds a feeling of humility to the tracklist, Miss Grit’s syrupy vocals sit atop the slow-burning instrumental and deliver lines of pure poetry like; “I’ll normalize what’s going on so I don’t have to make things right”. Lyrics like these allow the concept of the album to become more clear while still feeling deeply personal, creating an interesting dialogue between Miss Grit and the listener.
The way Miss Grit is able to make the futuristic seem reasonable and present is a skill in itself. Miss Grit navigates her syncopated creativity diligently, leaving no idea left behind and combining her natural abilities with her endless stream of innovation to piece together an album that feels both vulnerable and abstract. The way these songs build up to these grandiose walls of sound only to be humbled by their tender vocals and guided by the thoughtfully crafted lyrics leaves little to be desired. Follow The Cyborg allows Miss Grit to be their unfiltered self. Through its 10 tracks, we are introduced to an uncompromising artist whose trust in themselves creates moments of sonic bliss. The way they are able to bounce between tempos and moods with ease gives the album its colorful personality and shines a light on the writing talents of Miss Grit. Before pressing play, forget everything, and allow the twists and turns of the LP to take the shape of a beautifully spun narrative that will only get better with time.
