Whokill

For her second album as Tune-Yards, Merrill Garbus ventures out of the bedroom where she recorded her debut with little more than a handheld digital recorder, a ukulele and some free sound-editing software. Whokill, recorded in a proper studio with bassist and occasional co-writer Nate Brenner and a handful of other musicans, is a massive leap forward and surely one of the most inventive albums of 2011. Garbus' elastic and often surprisingly soulful vocals are at the center of these 10 songs, laid atop purposefully disorienting cut-and-paste arrangements fusing hip-hop, post-punk noise, art-rock experimentalism and, just when they're least expected, surprisingly catchy pop hooks. Over it all, the fractured lyrics traffic in impressionistic but startlingly vivid imagery exploring sexual and political identity in a style more reminiscent of punk-era feminists like Patti Smith or The Slits than the Riot Grrl generation. There are other current artists working similar musical ground -- fans of Dirty Projectors, Micachu and the Shapes or Deerhoof will find much to enjoy here -- but Tune-Yards always manage to be as compelling as they are confusing.