trip9love…???
tirzah
2023
Continuity takes center stage on a record that finds an avant pop experimenter from London repeating love's lessons, with the help of one drum and piano loop.
avant pop/trip hop/Uk Bass
BY HARPSICHORD
JANUARY 19, 2024
When Tirzah released her first studio album, Devotion, in 2018, ‘The Fader’ classified her sound as “wavy soul.” At that stage of her career she turned 31, gave birth to her first of two children, and moved in with her partner, Kwake (who is noted in that profile to be a producer for UK exports such as Sampha). In the midst of Tirzah’s solo career, she received critical acclaim from those that cover more indie-leaning projects. Her second album, Colourgrade (released in 2021) appeared as one of the Top 20 albums of that year from outlets such as ‘Pitchfork’ and ‘The Guardian.’ Five years later, she returned to the scene with her third studio LP, trip9love…???.
To say the least, trip9love…??? is unlike anything that dropped in 2023. While the year remained filled with varying takes on electronic dance and club music, swayed in the breeze of politically usurped country, and reinstated interest in commercial R&B, Tirzah oddly managed to fuse aspects of all those aforementioned sounds, while also remaining true to her brand of laidback intensity. Laidback intensity could seem like a contradictory phrase, but to say the least once again, that’s exactly what her third studio album delivers upon.
Immediately, the album starts with the repetition of a few piano notes. These notes are heard throughout the remainder of the LP– albeit through different waves of distortion. On the opening track, Tirzah sings the chorus. “In my world, in my world/I can't see, I can't see/In your world I'm your world/I want to see, I want to see,” repeats twice before she drops her octave to a low vibration. “Your eyes is something you can’t hide,” she declares by the third verse, adding an air of mystery to a drum loop that assists the piano.
Minimalism becomes the name of the game. With simplistic production and intentionally limited lyricism, Tirzah manages to unpack the various layers of her current state of love. “F22” flies in the wispy skies of admiration. While the follow up, “Promises” increases a grounded ferocity, materializing into a foreboding punk-attitude number about making “deals, deals, deals” under a state of being disoriented. Her voice occupies a space of being monotone– ultimately working as a possible source of inspiration for any grime hip hop act who wants to venture into a freestyle about their own “deals, deals, deals” gone wrong.
The first three-track-stretch of trip9love…??? is the album’s strongest point. A strong statement to be made in under ten minutes. It becomes apparent that the piano and drum loop works as a device of continuity. “U all the time” finds the piano notes becoming darker and deeper, while the drum works as a bouncy trap beat. It serves as the “trip ” part of the title recalling how the trip hop genre can in fact be haunting. There’s a poetic rapping style that Tirzah takes on as her lyricism escapes minimalism for a hot moment, instead contrasting the thought of being around “you all the time” by calling out the need for a break and space. At this moment, her voice gives annoyance. She’s fed up with “Tellin' me lies” as the 808 punches through eardrums. In the song’s final minute that sheer power eases up, opting for a ringing and jingling that nearly mirrors the tone of cathedral bells.
The ebbs and flows of trip9love…??? reign in a project that seemingly could be one dimensional, and instead adds varying layers. The reason why the ‘9 ’ of the album’s title most likely exists is because two tracks abandon the continuous pattern of drum-piano loop. “Their Love” plays as a sobering ballad that relies on solely piano, and “6 Phrazes” contains echoed out vocals that also pushes away from the drums.
In the center of the album, the music delivers on rage akin to the likes of a Sky Ferreira. Added to the elements: a razor sharp electric guitar– as noted on “Stars” and “2 D I C U V.” On “Stars” specifically, Tirzah repeats and stutters through an “I can believe, I can believe” refrain that happens throughout the entire playtime. And while punk and clash music plays its part throughout, it’s at “No Limit” where we get that brand of “wavy soul.” Oddly enough, as disorienting as “No Limit” is, it manages to work even through its modeling after… well, truck commercials where a gospel-voiced singer pushes the chorus over imagery of the vehicle crashing through rugged mountain terrain.
Tirzah comes from the UK, and with that comes the stereotypes of what we think the British culture can be while living outside (or even visiting the nation). There’s no use in describing what UK pop music sounds like. It just does what it does. This to say, Tirzah’s album brings about a peculiar editorial thought. Back when the roll out for Adele’s 30 started, that songstress’s team teased how she would be taking risks on the project. Fans wondered and wondered what experimentation would take centerstage. Not to go too much on a tangent, but “He Made” from trip9love…? seemed like the unfulfilled pipe dream of risks that would have suited Adele. Uncanny in its delivery, Tirzah’s voice accesses the lower register of Adele, with a brooding sharpness that punctuates the signature somber and sorrow exhibited on songs like the latter’s “Hometown Glory”.
What makes trip9love…??? one of the best releases of 2023, is its dramatic urgency. Produced by English composer Mica Levi – who has been nominated for a BAFTA in 2014, and won the Cannes Film Festival ‘Soundtrack Award’ in 2023– the album hauntingly tells a story with a sense of knowing calmness. That to say, cinematic discord can trippingly be a pleasant experience once the listener is completed.
“F22” for being an exhilarating opener that sets the tone for the entire album– with intentional production .
“Promises” for being a great follow up that adds more dimension to the complexities of the album. Tirzah also does a fantastic job of creating a freestyle-like quality with the hook.
“He Made” for being a soulful number that is ahead of its time, and for the convincing vocal performance.
Key Tracks
This project is true to the idea of originality. It’s unlike anything else that is out in the market and offers progressive ideas on music. At times, however, ‘trip9love???’ can be a little distracting with the cacophony of instruments clashing together on songs such as “2 D I C U V.” That is more of an editorial taste level rather than a penalizing criticism.