Review: Miss Anthropocene by Grimes
Genre: Electronic & Alternative
The Canadian electronic popstar Claire Boucher's fifth album as Grimes is clouded in darkness and mystery, Grimes confronts climate change with different theological ideals of her creation to produce a dark trip into a warped future

The electronic pop star, Grimes’s, newest release Miss Anthropocene is a combination of industrial and ethereal, that maintains her signature experimental production and synthetic vocals. Grimes’s last album ‘Art Angels’ in 2015 was her most bold and cohesive work to date. With seamless production and dream pop, ‘Art Angels’ was a brilliant portrayal of artistic freedom, even being praised as one of the best albums of the 2010s. Miss Anthropocene is the self-destruction of Grimes’s past, leaving behind the bubblegum persona and upbeat vocals for more mature grunge-pop. Miss Anthropocene is a confrontation on a major issue that hasn't been paid attention to: the climate crisis. The title of the album Miss Anthropocene represents the goddess of climate change. Through the lens of gods and theology, Grimes engages reality with her pop fantasy.

The ten tracks on Miss Anthropocene sonically are perplexing, shifting between harsh and almost metal instrumentals, to light and clear ethereal vocals. ‘My Name is Dark (Art Mix),’ is hazy and dark using harmonizing screams as the chorus. “I’m not gonna sleep anymore, that's what the drugs are for,” rings throughout the song. ‘Delete Forever’ shifts the focus from climate change to addiction, vocals clear and untouched as a banjo beat plays as Grimes laments over friends she has lost to opioids and heroin. Embodying a futuristic Patsy Cline, the acoustic ballad shows that without all the digital producing and theological metaphors, Grimes can create deeply touching and honest music. Though each song brings a unique perspective to various issues, I wish there was more consistency throughout the album. When listening to her previous work you know that Grimes is working to accomplish something: having to constantly prove herself in the music industry. You can hear it in her music: instinctive self expression and artistic freedom that drives Grimes to make synthetic masterpieces. Miss Anthropocene is complex. I don’t know what Grimes is trying to achieve, as there's less of a known purpose and goal, but instead, more of a mystery that can’t be solved and isn’t meant to be.
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