20- Shit Robot- “Take em Up”
If Nancy Whang is singing, it will be on my year end list. On this matter, I will accept no arguments. Her voice engages you through a weird blend of sterilizing monotony and genuine emotion. She has this robotic digitized way of singing at times but segues beautifully into more melodic wave form deliveries, like when she sings “but he said it's all right, and he said it's all right, and you know it's all right, now there's just no reason not to say no”. Musically “Take em Up” is like an 8 bit bedroom beat cracked up on melodramatic overture, sketchy guitar strings and obtuse synth base notes. The whole thing is salacious and scandalous, only cynically encased in aristocratic yet soulless shell. But as Whang memorializes the exploits, mishaps and mysteries of her nights that casing is splayed open. By growing slightly more jittery, with a carful blending of euphonic soft notes from the key board and increasingly elongated, ephemeral echos of Whang's voice, the rhythm becomes more organic. As the end approaches, the beat slows down, giving way to a broken down speech from Whang. She tries to convey the futility of desire, and our unwillingness to grow beyond its depleting effects on us. While she seems to have reached her limit from these tribulations, she's got one more round in her still. She ends it on a high note.
