Ah, women making electronic music... it’s sad that sex is even a point of note, but I suppose it must be. Every review I’ve read of Happy In Grey so far, from Pitchfork to Resident Advisor, has been based entirely on the fact that former Bpitch Control promotions schlocker Marit “Damero” Posch has ovaries (and yes, I’m aware I’m following suit, but I’d like to think I’m at least making a point with it). Just why is it any more of a shock that women are popping up more and more in electronica than any other genre? Women are sorely under-represented across the board, not merely in less commercial stylings, but that doesn’t make their vaginas any more of a basis for evaluation than race, hair color, or anything else that none of us had any control over when we were created. What matters is the quality of the music.
Damero bases her songs here around a basic chugging 4/4 house beat, a few light Logic synths, and the odd guitar or reversed drum piece, over which she spits almost constant breathy vocals, often fractured and toyed with. I'm quite sure her delivery and yearning, emotional lyrics are mostly responsible for the sex-based criticism. To be fair to my fellow reviewers, it can be a bit much at times. The instrumentals are strong enough on their own to carry the album, featuring some truly tasty synth work and well-crafted samples, yet they are rarely given the opportunity to breathe and develop their own voice, so to speak. “Things_Gone” has an extended lyric-less intro with a raunchy, offbeat synth lead and, as such, walks away a clear album highlight. Smothering the whole thing in vocals could indicate that Damero lacks confidence in her programming abilities. It is her debut album, though, so I’m sure she’ll relax a little for her next record -- at least I hope she does. She’s got the talent.
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