illuminati hotties - Let Me Do One More album review
The first single, which is entitled “MMMOOOAAAAAYAYA” (that’s also the chorus) or just “moo” as I’ve seen it be called is a chaotic nightmare and I mean that in the best possible way. It is a messy punk track that, while seemingly everywhere, has a pretty thorough throughline in its sonic decision making. This is a perfect entry point into illuminati hotties as it emphasizes and exaggerates so much of what makes Sarah Tudzin so compelling, her inflections and the way she chooses to deliver lines. Lyrically it is posed almost as a rant which I can’t decide if it's attacking people’s view of the writer, the nature of selling out, or both and so much more. The way Tudzin delivers this track is somewhere between teasing bully and the victim of said bullying who are finally at their breaking point and biting back.
“You think I’m interesting don’t you? Think I’m fascinating won’t you swing by after hours so you know just what you’re getting into?”
All of this leading into a fight call and a manifesto that states;
“If you aren’t laughing baby then you aren’t making money”
That goes into a really exaggerated, almost retaliating laugh and a huge punk closer.
“Pool Hopping” was the perfect summer fun song that sonically didn’t try to be anything other than what it was. There is a fun instrumentation that could easily be thrown on the playlist to an outdoor BBQ and a recurring riff that gets really infectious. Vocally and lyrically it does a great job paving the road for the entire record to follow. Tudzin’s vocals are punk-raunchy in the first verse and then soft and hush-toned in the second, a style in which basically all the other tracks go one way or the other. The lyrics themselves outside their main themes pave this road as well. There are lines like;
“All rippers, no more skippers”
As well as a mention of things being “so spaced out” that tell you there will be varying moods but they’re all pretty much integrale to the play through. All of this complemented by the fact that it’s track one and, while it wasn’t the lead single, it was treated as the main single. There is a narrative here about the “clean rebound” of a relationship that due to uncertainty is both sort of over and not and has entered this more open version of itself with the concept of pool hopping being used as a really clever metaphor.
The third single, “u v v p” (whatever that means) is another song that doesn’t try to exit its lane. With its twanging guitars, “oh-oh” backing harmonies and narrative about being unabashedly in love it's a true beach rock cut but still has some personality in that its punk-inspired chorus makes it a bit dual-genred. There is a spoken word feature by Buck Meek toward the end that, while I don’t love, I think is a fine artistic choice as the final leg of the song would likely feel incomplete without it.
Based on the title alone I expected the final single “Threatening Each Other re: Capitalism” to be a punk rock rager but instead got a more slow dance number with punk rock edges. Outside of the bridge to the song the vocalization is almost all hush toned and it’s very slow paced outside of some power chords that link each section of the song. The lyricism here is a really poetic and tragic way of looking at consumer guilt.
“The farmers’ market’s got this stand they say you’ll cut your fruit in half, it saves you sweat but your haul rots fast, now twice a week you’re coming back, shit, isn’t that genius?”
Is the same defeatist way that many people who think they’re pro capitalism talk about how money is sapped out of society in a harmful and toxic way but using the tone it deserves to be spoken in instead of lying to themselves about how wonderful it all is.
Sandwiched between the two modes of singles on the track listing is “Knead” and what an impactful choice that makes. The song has varying degrees of emotion instrumentally with it’s fun instrumental breaks and bare, single layered chorus that is once again just the title of the track. The outro is sort of a lead into the more mellow singles as it has a sort of fun air to it while still sounding pretty sad and impactful until all you’re left with on the track is just heavy breathing.
At this point in the record we take a little detour and get a bit lost. “Protector” is a somewhat lo-fi track with two guitar chords, some light percussion and more quiet vocals. I suppose if it had to be here it is where it is but we’ve had such a descent in moods from track one to now that I feel we’re in need of a change of pace and this track sort of holds that back. That and I think everything this song does and tries to say is tackled in a much stronger approach later on in the record.
From that little misstep, however, a public access TV announcement gives the record a soft reset with “Joni: LA’s No. 1 Health Goth.” This is the pace-changer I needed at this point this song takes trips to four different genres from double-time punk to ho-down to a down shifted section that I can’t quite name and even has a 50s rock-like solo section. Enunciation plays a huge role here and the final line of the chorus is sung in a way I could never really sell to you in words. The mood from “moo” makes its way back here as Tudzin sort of hype-womans this Joni character in that teasey voice again;
“You wish you were like her”
Yet still in a tongue-in-cheek way as she lists all the ways the character is perfect and will never notice you.
“Kickflip” is an in-and-out track but it's a key player in that it emphasizes every key point on this particular “band” i’ve been speaking on. There is more lite genre bending in more of a western style with the lead chord of the track sounding like it's playing through a cowboy movie and Tudzin’s annunciations accompanying that vibe that much more. All of this while still holding onto a sound that can blend into the rest of the record; see that “when everyday is the same” uptick in mood. Speaking of in-and-out, “Toasting” at just half a minute isn’t an interlude; it is its own full blown track. It starts out a lite narration of life at home and boredom with accompanying backing vocals from Great Grandpa’s Alex Menne, then goes into a more pop punk chorus. So in just three minutes we tackled two complete ideas of tracks that very quickly let out genre expression.
I picked on “Protector” early on and I made my case but I also feel like “The Sway” and “Growth” later on the record do what that song is trying to do just with better execution. “The Sway” is another track that takes a lo-fi approach with choked delivery, minimalist guitar, everything I said before but this time also has a building percussion and, to me, a much more beautiful sentiment.
“You think that you could love me through the sway?”
Is the key line of the song with themes of questioning being worthy of love even through your flaws.
“Cheap Shoes,” like “Kickflip” plays with some things that we haven’t quite seen yet. Only this time Tudzin goes into a real modern pop punk track, literal punk instrumental and pop vocal melody.
“Get cheap shoes, cause you wear them through. And I know you want to wear mine too.”
Then it’s midsection and outro has the signature i.h. deconstructionist sound in its guitar tones.
The final track “Growth” is one of the most impressive outros I’ve heard in a long time. The choked-up delivery I keep referencing is in full force Tudzin is literally whispering painfully on points here while she sings about things like being used, loss and of course the titular growing pains. There’s an a capella section and a starry ending guitar piece that actually transitions into a rendition of “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Then, closing the record out, is a crown jewel on top of it all, the moment that name drops the record. “Let me do one more” isn’t a lyric, it isn’t shoe-horned in, it seems to be Tudzin speaking to a producer or technician requesting that she be allowed to do another take of the track. It’s a beautiful subtle sentiment, that’s just real.
What I thought on first listen was a scatter-shot that went just a bit too deep into low energy for its genre at times actually has a very well thought out sequencing. There is an even split between fun and sad in that even when its fun it's sad and vice-versa. I think the mid section can slog just a bit but mainly just because the one song makes it feel a bit long but I think Tudzin makes up for that in a big way in being versatile in terms of sound and a general respectable realness. At the end of the experience what I found was a record I ended up not being able to put down and something that was actually completely faithful to its own marketing.
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