When a rat nests in our discarded boxes of Kraft macaroni and cheese, yesterday’s headlines, and the threads of our misplaced beanies, it’s just nature. So why is it that when we humans snuggle up to our own emotional refuse, it’s called wallowing in self-pity?
To Tijuana’s anette berumen, it’s sculpture no matter what species is piling the rubbish — something we can admire if we’re open to it. On her first single release, Might (Mouse Knight), everyday lamentations stack up to divine heights.
B-side “Battle Toads” lays down a foundation of chronic self-consciousness, cementing layers of viscera atop the base like a tower of Babel.
“i grow hair on my cheeks and i have weak teeth
i forget how to count i over consume raw meat
and i have deals with devils
they tell me to bring my own shovel”
The stratum sways against the draft of creaky acoustic chords and multi-tracked harmonies, bounding through the desolate sonic space like tumbleweeds. If not for berumen’s somber vocal delivery, you’d hear the crickets’ trebly screech and the passage of traffic. Toads croak in the shadows.
“and i bury myself
with dirty bubbles”
On the flip side, the well-punctuated “Running!” ditches abstraction for bluesy chord progression and panted verses. It’s chest pain welling up after a week spent with the flu — the plastic-y taste of a water-bottle’s chewed-up nozzle.
“running running running”
More about: anette berumen
