Out Today : Kim Gordon - 'The Collective'
(stream/purchase 'The Collective')
photo by Danielle Neu
'The Collective', the highly acclaimed second solo album from Kim Gordon is available today (Friday March 8) at finer record shops and via streaming services worldwide.
‘The Collective’ Tracklist
01. BYE BYE
02. The Candy House
03. I Don’t Miss My Mind
04. I’m a Man
05. Trophies
06. It’s Dark Inside
07. Psychedelic Orgasm
08. Tree House
09. Shelf Warmer
10. The Believers
11. Dream Dollar
Kim Gordon on Tour (new dates in bold)
(Tickets)
Thursday, March 21 Higher Ground, Burlington VT
Friday, March 22 Black Cat, Washington DC
Saturday, March 23 Knockdown Center, Queens NY ( with Kelsey Lu, L'Rain, Bill Nace + Circuit des Yeux, Full Size, Matt Krefting)
Wednesday, March 27 Regent Theater, Los Angeles CA
Friday, March 29 Ventura Music Hall, Ventura CA
Saturday, March 30 The Fillmore, San Francisco CA
Friday, June 7 Fine Line, Minneapolis MN
Saturday, June 8 Beyond the Gate @ Bohemian National Cemetery, Chicago IL
Sunday, June 9 El Club, Detroit MI
Monday, June 10 Axis Club, Toronto ON
Wednesday, June 12 Basilica Hudson, Hudson NY
Friday, June 14 Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA
Saturday, June 15 Mr. Smalls Theatre, Pittsburgh PA
Monday, June 17 Headliners Music Hall, Louisville KY
Tuesday, June 18 The Grey Eagle, Asheville NC
Wednesday, June 19 Terminal West, Atlanta GA
Friday, June 21 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro NC
Saturday, June 22 Out and About Festival, Vienna VA
Tuesday, June 25 Koko, London UK
Wednesday, June 26 O2 Institute2 Birmingham, Birmingham UK
Friday, June 28 Elevate Festival, Graz AZ
Monday, July 1 Muffatwerk, Munich DE
Tuesday, July 2 Meet Factory, Prague CZ
Wednesday, July 3 Open’er Festival, Gydnia PL
Friday, July 5 Roskilde Festival, Roskilde DK
Sunday, July 28 Fuji Rock Festival, Naeba JP
Kim Gordon Online
Official Website
Kim Gordon - "Psychedelic Orgasm"
"Psychedelic Orgasm"
directed by Kim Gordon and Vice Cooler
(stream / download "Psychedelic Orgasm")
(presave/preorder 'The Collective')
Kim Gordon will release her highly anticipated second solo album, 'The Collective', this Friday, March 8.. Today, she offers one more early taste of the album with “Psychedelic Orgasm.”
A video for the track is also out today, directed by Kim Gordon and musician/filmmaker/producer Vice Cooler. With its quick cuts and upside down tableaus of desiccated pumpkins, giant inflatables and shopping mall escalators, the Los Angeles-set clip is as disorienting as “Psychedelic Orgasm” itself.
(photo by Danielle Neu)
‘The Collective’ Tracklist
01. BYE BYE
02. The Candy House
03. I Don’t Miss My Mind
04. I’m a Man
05. Trophies
06. It’s Dark Inside
07. Psychedelic Orgasm
08. Tree House
09. Shelf Warmer
10. The Believers
11. Dream Dollar
Kim Gordon on Tour (new dates in bold)
(Tickets)
Thursday, March 21 Higher Ground, Burlington VT
Friday, March 22 Black Cat, Washington DC
Saturday, March 23 Knockdown Center, Queens NY ( with Kelsey Lu, L'Rain, Bill Nace + Circuit des Yeux, Full Size, Matt Krefting)
Wednesday, March 27 Regent Theater, Los Angeles CA
Friday, March 29 Ventura Music Hall, Ventura CA
Saturday, March 30 The Fillmore, San Francisco CA
Friday, June 7 Fine Line, Minneapolis MN
Saturday, June 8 Beyond the Gate @ Bohemian National Cemetery, Chicago IL
Sunday, June 9 El Club, Detroit MI
Monday, June 10 Axis Club, Toronto ON
Wednesday, June 12 Basilica Hudson, Hudson NY
Friday, June 14 Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA
Saturday, June 15 Mr. Smalls Theatre, Pittsburgh PA
Monday, June 17 Headliners Music Hall, Louisville KY
Tuesday, June 18 The Grey Eagle, Asheville NC
Wednesday, June 19 Terminal West, Atlanta GA
Friday, June 21 Cat’s Cradle, Carrboro NC
Saturday, June 22 Out and About Festival, Vienna VA
Tuesday, June 25 Koko, London UK
Wednesday, June 26 O2 Institute2 Birmingham, Birmingham UK
Friday, June 28 Elevate Festival, Graz AZ
Monday, July 1 Muffatwerk, Munich DE
Tuesday, July 2 Meet Factory, Prague CZ
Wednesday, July 3 Open’er Festival, Gydnia PL
Friday, July 5 Roskilde Festival, Roskilde DK
Sunday, July 28 Fuji Rock Festival, Naeba JP
Kim Gordon Online
Official Website
Kim Gordon - "I'm a Man"
"I'm a Man", directed by Alex Ross Perry
from 'The Collective', out March 8
(stream/download "I'm a Man")
(presave/preorder 'The Collective')
Kim Gordon has released “I’m a Man,” the latest track from her second solo album, 'The Collective'. Atop a dark, churning soundscape, Gordon ruminates on the lost role of “traditional masculinity” and the role of capitalism in its demise.
An evocative video for “I’m a Man” premieres today, serving as a perfect visual accompaniment to the song’s expressive lyrics and pulsing sound. It stars Coco Gordon Moore and Conor Fay and was directed by filmmaker Alex Ross Perry.
(photo by Danielle Neu)
‘The Collective’ Tracklist
01. BYE BYE
02. The Candy House
03. I Don’t Miss My Mind
04. I’m a Man
05. Trophies
06. It’s Dark Inside
07. Psychedelic Orgasm
08. Tree House
09. Shelf Warmer
10. The Believers
11. Dream Dollar
Kim Gordon on Tour
(Tickets)
Thursday, March 21 Higher Ground, Burlington VT
Friday, March 22 Black Cat, Washington DC
Saturday, March 23 Knockdown Center, Queens NY ( with Kelsey Lu, L'Rain, Bill Nace + Circuit des Yeux, Full Size, Matt Krefting)
Wednesday, March 27 Regent Theater, Los Angeles CA
Friday, March 29 Ventura Music Hall, Ventura CA
Saturday, March 30 The Fillmore, San Francisco CA
Kim Gordon Online
Official Website
Coming March 8 : Kim Gordon - 'The Collective'
Photo by Danielle Neu
"BYE BYE", directed by Clare Blazary and featuring Coco Gordon Moore
(preorder/presave 'The Collective')
(stream / download "BYE BYE")
Musician and visual artist Kim Gordon returns with her second solo album, 'The Collective'. The lead track, “BYE BYE” is out now, driven by a
snaking bassline which guides us through a haunting packing list.
Gordon will also play six live shows around 'The Collective'’s arrival, beginning March 21 in Burlington, VT.
The video for “BYE BYE” stars Coco Gordon Moore and was directed by photographer and filmmaker Clara Balzary, with cinematography by Christopher Blauvelt.
There was a space in Kim Gordon’s No Home Record. It might not have been a home and it might not have been a record, but I seem to recall there was a space.
Boulevards, bedrooms, instruments were played, recorded, the voice and its
utterances, straining a way through the rhythms and the chords, threaded in some shared place, we met there, the guitar came too, there fell a peal of cymbals, driving on the music. We listened, we turned our back to the walls, slithered through the city at night. Kim Gordon’s words in our ears, her eyes, she saw, she knew, she remembered, she liked. We were moving somewhere. No home record. Moving.
Now I’m listening to 'The Collective'. And I’m thinking, what has been done to this space, how has she treated it, it’s not here the same way, not quite. I mean, not at all. On this evidence, it splintered, glittered, crashed and burned. It’s dark here. Can I love you with my eyes open? “It’s Dark Inside.” Haunted by synthesized voices bodiless. Planes of projections. Mirrors get your gun and the echo of a well-known tune, comes in liminal, yet never not hanging around, part of the atmosphere, fading in and out, like she says - Grinding at the edges. Grinding at us all, grinding us away. Hurting, scraping. Sediments, layers, of recorded emissions, mined, twisted, refracted. That makes the music. This shimmering, airless geology, agitated, quarried, cries made in data, bounced down underground tunnels, reaching our ears. We recalled it – but not as a memory, more like how you recall a product, when it’s flawed.
She sings “Shelf Warmer” so it sounds like shelf life, it sounds radioactive, inside our relationships, juddering, the beats chattering, edgy, the pain of love in the gift shop, assembled in hollow booms, in scratching claps. Non-reciprocal gift giving, there is a return policy. But - novel idea – A hand and a kiss. How about that. Disruption. I would say that Kim Gordon is thinking about how thinking is, now. Conceptual artists do that, did that. “I Don’t Miss My Mind.” The record opens with a list, but the list is under the title “BYE BYE.” The list says milk thistle, dog sitter…. And much more. She’s leaving. Why is the list anxious? How divisive is mascara? It’s on the list. I am packing, listening to the list. Is it mine, or hers.
She began seeking images from behind her closed eyes. Putting them to music. But I need to keep my eyes open as I walk the streets, with noise cancelled by the airbuds rammed in my ears. quiet, aware, quiet, aware, they chant at me. What could be going through Kim’s head as she goes through mine? - Josephine Pryde
Recorded in Gordon’s native Los Angeles, 'The Collective' follows her 2019 full-length debut 'No Home Record' and continues her collaboration with producer Justin Raisen (Lil Yachty, John Cale, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Charli XCX, Yves Tumor), with additional production from Anthony Paul Lopez. The album advances their joint world building, with Raisin’s damaged, blown out dub and trap constructions playing the foil to Gordon’s intuitive word collages and hooky mantras, which conjure communication, commercial sublimation and sensory overload.
‘The Collective’ Tracklist
- BYE BYE
- The Candy House
- I Don’t Miss My Mind
- I’m a Man
- Trophies
- It’s Dark Inside
- Psychedelic Orgasm
- Tree House
- Shelf Warmer
- The Believers
- Dream Dollar
Kim Gordon on Tour, Tickets on Sale Friday at 10am local time
Thursday, March 21 Higher Ground, Burlington VT
Friday, March 22 Black Cat, Washington DC
Saturday, March 23 Knockdown Center, Queens NY
Wednesday, March 27 Regent Theater, Los Angeles CA
Friday, March 29 Ventura Music Hall, Ventura CA
Saturday, March 30 The Fillmore, San Francisco CA
Kim Gordon Online
Official Website
Kim Gordon - "No Home Record" 2022 Tour
(Photo: Linnea Stephan)
Purchase/Stream No Home Record
Kim Gordon has confirmed a 2022 solo tour. Already a creative pioneer in the realms of art, music, literature and fashion: this will be her first ever international headlining solo tour, originally slated for 2020, for a pre-Covid world. Kim Gordon says of the tour, “I can’t believe the tour is finally happening! Looking forward to playing with my band who are amazing and bringing the music to you. You are the ones gonna make it sizzle.”
This marks the first tour in support of her critical No Home Record live. No Home Tour will launch at Boston’s Paradise Rock Club on March 13th, with stops in New York, Philadelphia, and appearances at Big Ears and Treefort festivals in the U.S., as well as Primavera festivals in Barcelona and Porto in Europe. Tickets can be purchased HERE and full list of dates below.
General ticket on sale date: Friday, January 28 at 10am local time.
Pre-sale Password: KIMG22
Pre-sale begins on 1/27 at 10am local time.
Kim Gordon on Tour
Sunday, March 13 Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA *
Tuesday, March 15 9:30 Club, Washington D.C. *
Wednesday, March 16 Theatre of The Living Arts, Philadelphia PA *
Friday, March 18 Webster Hall, New York NY *
Saturday, March 19 White Eagle Hall, Jersey City NJ *
Tuesday, March 22 Orange Peel, Asheville NC **
Thursday, March 24 Variety Playhouse, Atlanta GA **
Friday, March 25 Big Ears Festival, Knoxville TN
Sunday, March 27 Treefort Festival, Boise ID
Monday, May 23 Koko, London UK
Tuesday, May 24 Gorilla, Manchester UK
Wednesday, May 25 Queen Margaret Union, Glasgow UK
Thursday, May 26 Trinity, Bristol UK
Saturday, May 28 Het Sieraad, Amsterdam NL
Sunday, May 29 AB Ballroom, Brussels BE
Monday, May 30 La Gaite Lyrique, Paris FR
Tuesday, May 31 Rote Fabrik, Zurich CH
Thursday, June 2 Primavera Festival, Barcelona ES
Monday, June 6 Gloria Theater, Koln DE
Tuesday, June 7 Astra Kulturhaus, Berlin DE
Thursday, June 9 Primavera Sound Festival, Porto PT
w/ opener Bill Nace
w/ opener Mary Lattimore
Kim Gordon Online
Official Website
Kim Gordon - "Hungry Baby" (Music Video)
Purchase / Stream No Home Record
Today, legendary musician and multi-disciplinary artist Kim Gordon releases the new video for the No Home Record track ‘Hungry Baby’, directed by Clara Balzary and starring Coco Gordon-Moore.
Clara Balzary says of the video, “I came up with the idea for the video after listening to “Hungry Baby” on a 2020 angst fueled walk around my suburban neighborhood. Coco is an amazing performer, and loved her as this character with such a raging internal world set against that quiet + empty backdrop of the parking lot. I’m so grateful to Kim for being so supportive and open to the idea. She is such a role model as someone for whom an art practice always comes before worries about ego or branding. The talented Sadie Wilking worked with Coco on choreography, and we couldn’t have done any of it without the legendary cinematographer and friend, Christopher Blauvelt, who is always so generous with his craft.”
Kim Gordon Online
Official Website
VIDEO: Kim Gordon on Echoes w/ Jehnny Beth
Photo by Aurélie Lamachère
Early this year, just days before the world went into lockdown, Kim Gordon and her newly assembled live band performed tracks from her solo debut No Home Record for Arte's "Echoes with Jehnny Beth." The resulting half-hour set has premiered today, including a round table discussion between Gordon and the episode's other artists.
Purchase/Stream No Home Record
Kim Gordon Online
Official Website
Kim Gordon - 'Air BnB' Live from BBC 6 Music Festival
Photo courtesy of BBC 6 Music
This weekend Kim Gordon laid down a firm indication of what's in store for the upcoming EU & North American tour dates with a blistering set streamed live from BBC 6 Music Festival in Camden, UK.
Taking to the stage on Sunday evening, Kim and her band tore through a set list defined by the uprorious 'Air BnB', 'Hungry Baby' and 'Murdered Out'. See below for a clip of 'Air BnB':
Stream/Purchase No Home Record
Tour dates:
May 22 Villette Sonique Festival, Paris FR
Sunday, May 24 AB Ballroom, Brussels BE
Monday, May 25 Paradiso, Amsterdam NL
Wednesday, May 27 Gorilla, Manchester UK
Thursday, May 28 SWX, Bristol UK
Friday, May 29 All Points East, London UK
Sunday, May 31 Art Rock Fest, St. Brieuc FR
Tuesday, June 2 Rote Fabric, Zurich CH
Wednesday, June 3 L’Epicerie Moderne, Lyon FR
Thursday, June 4 Primavera Sound, Barcelona ES
Saturday, June 6 Northside Festival, Aarkhus DK
Monday, June 8 Astra Kulturhaus, Berlin DE
Tuesday, June 9 Gloria Theatre, Cologne DE
Thursday, June 11 NOS Primavera Sound, Porto PT
Friday, July 17 First Avenue, Minneapolis MN
Sunday, July 19 Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago IL
Tuesday, July 21 Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA
Thursday, July 23 Webster Hall, New York NY
Friday, July 24 Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA
Saturday, July 25 9:30 Club, Washington DC
Friday, September 11 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver BC
Saturday, September 12 Showbox, Seattle WA
Sunday, September 13 Wonder Ballroom, Portland OR
Tuesday, September 15 The Fillmore, San Francisco CA
Official Website
Kim Gordon - Solo Touring 2020
In addition to previously announced European festival dates, Kim Gordon will be embarking on her first solo tour in support of 2019's widely hailed, 'No Home Record' starting with London's 6Music Festival and continuing with North American shows commencing July 17 in Minneapolis. In addition, Gordon will be one of the keynote speakers for the music portion of South By Southwest as part of a conversation with author Rachel Kushner.
The touring band features Kim on guitar on vocals, Yves Rothman as music director, Sarah Register on guitar, Emily Retsas on bass, and Sterling Laws on drums.
Gordon recently wrapped up a solo art exhibition of new work at 303 Gallery in New York, titled “The Bonfire.” The show opened January 10th and featured a series of works on canvas and a film titled "Los Angeles June 6, 2019.” Artnet News noted the works “present a world of safety and intimacy but beneath which lurk darker unseen forces...these images reflect our current reality where it seems no image is uncaptured, as well as the fact that even the most ordinary events are packaged and elevated as though they have more monumental meanings.” Last week Kim also participated at LA’s The Broad “The Un-Private Collection” series in conversation with NY-based artist Christopher Wool, moderated by music curator, critic, author, and gallerist John Corbett.
Stream/Purchase No Home Record
Kim Gordon on tour, new dates in bold (on sale Friday, February 28)
Sunday, March 8 6 Music Festival, London UK
Friday, May 22 Villette Sonique Festival, Paris FR
Sunday, May 24 AB Ballroom, Brussels BE
Monday, May 25 Paradiso, Amsterdam NL
Wednesday, May 27 Gorilla, Manchester UK
Thursday, May 28 SWX, Bristol UK
Friday, May 29 All Points East, London UK
Sunday, May 31 Art Rock Fest, St. Brieuc FR
Tuesday, June 2 Rote Fabric, Zurich CH
Wednesday, June 3 L’Epicerie Moderne, Lyon FR
Thursday, June 4 Primavera Sound, Barcelona ES
Saturday, June 6 Northside Festival, Aarkhus DK
Monday, June 8 Astra Kulturhaus, Berlin DE
Tuesday, June 9 Gloria Theatre, Cologne DE
Thursday, June 11 NOS Primavera Sound, Porto PT
Friday, July 17 First Avenue, Minneapolis MN
Sunday, July 19 Pitchfork Music Festival, Chicago IL
Tuesday, July 21 Paradise Rock Club, Boston MA
Thursday, July 23 Webster Hall, New York NY
Friday, July 24 Union Transfer, Philadelphia PA
Saturday, July 25 9:30 Club, Washington DC
Friday, September 11 Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver BC
Saturday, September 12 Showbox, Seattle WA
Sunday, September 13 Wonder Ballroom, Portland OR
Tuesday, September 15 The Fillmore, San Francisco CA
Official Website
Kim Gordon - "Earthquake"
(Photo: Natalia Mantini)
Kim Gordon has released a video for ‘Earthquake’, taken from her hugely acclaimed debut album No Home Record. ‘Earthquake’ marks the final installment of Gordon’s collaboration with visual artist Loretta Fahrenholz throughout the album, which has included the video for ‘Sketch Artist’, as well as clips for ‘Hungry Baby’, ‘Murdered Out’, ‘Paprika Pony' and ‘Don’t Play It’.
Stream/Purchase No Home Record
Kim Gordon On Tour
May 22-30 All Points East, London UK
Kim Gordon Online
Official Website
Kim Gordon - Norman Records exclusive LP Colour
Made available from today, exclusively via the good folks over at Norman Records, is a limited to 300 edition of Kim Gordon's debut solo album 'No Home Record'.
On 'No Home Record', Norman Records wrote, "[No Home Record] is preoccupied with the feelings of transience and displacement - both physical and spiritual - that go hand-in-hand with modern existence, and consists of nine tracks of exploratory alternative rock."
Get your copy here
Kim Gordon online
Official Website
Out Today : Kim Gordon - 'No Home Record'
Today Kim Gordon releases her highly anticipated, 'No Home Record', an album already being heralded as “provocative, challenging and effortlessly cool" and “a superb genre-spanning solo debut.” Those who purchase the CD or LP at Amoeba Hollywood (6400 Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90028) today can celebrate with Gordon in-person at an in-store signing event starting at 7pm.
Earlier today, Gordon released a clip for “Hungry Baby”, which is the latest in a short video series the legendary musician and Berlin-based artist and filmmaker Loretta Fahrenholz created to accompany the album
stream/order 'No Home Record' (t-shirt / tote bag bundles available from The Matador Store)
Kim Gordon Online :
Official Website
Kim Gordon - "Hungry Baby"
(photo : Natalia Mantini)
"Hungry Baby" is the latest single from Kim Gordon's forthcoming solo album, 'No Home Record', out this Friday (October 11). Early praise for 'No Home Record' has been fairly over the top ("everything a Kim Gordon record should be: provocative, challenging and effortlessly cool" -DIY,
“a bold mix of industrial noise, art-punk poetics and wry wit” - The Guardian, "sharp, savvy and engagingly subversive" - Uncut), and there will be more to talk about later this week.
stream / download "Hungry Baby"
preorder 'No Home Record'
Kim Gordon Online :
Official Website
Kim Gordon - "Don't Play It"
Earlier today, Vogue Magazine premiered a Loretta Fahrenholz-directed clip for the track, "Don’t Play It” (above) from Kim Gordon’s forthcoming debut solo album 'No Home Record' out next Friday, October 11th.
preorder 'No Home Record'
Kim Gordon Online :
Official Website
New Track: Kim Gordon - Air BnB
(Photo by Natalia Mantini)
Kim Gordon's debut solo album, No Home Record, is out a month from today. After releasing the first single and video from that album, "Sketch Artist" last month, Kim Gordon is back with the new track and visual "Air BnB."
Stream "Air BnB" / Pre-Order No Home Record HERE
Kim Gordon Online :
Official Website
Coming October 11 : Kim Gordon - 'No Home Record'
"Sketch Artist" (director - Loretta Fahrenholz)
(photo by Natalia Mantini)
Multi-disciplinary artist Kim Gordon's first solo album, No Home Record is being released worldwide October 11th on Matador Records. No Home Record follows the recent opening of Gordon’s solo exhibition “She Bites Her Tender Mind” at IMMA (Irish Museum of Modern Art) in Dublin and “Lo-Fi Glamour” at Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh, PA. Among its nine tracks, No Home Record features the new single “Sketch Artist” accompanied by a video directed by Berlin-based experimental artist Loretta Fahrenholz and includes a cameo from actress and writer Abbi Jacobson. Fahrenholz notes, notes 'Sketch Artist' is a haunted car ride. Kim drives as 'Unter' Pool summons passengers throughout nighttime LA. The city drifts by, passengers intermingle in the back seat and Kim's deadly stare shocks pedestrians along her route.”
No Home Record was produced largely by Justin Raisen (Charli XCX, Ariel Pink, Sky Ferreira) at Sphere Ranch in Los Angeles, along with contributions from Shawn Everett (Jim James, The War on Drugs) and composer/filmmaker Jake Meginsky (L’appel Du Vide, 'Milford Graves Full Mantis'). Gordon’s solo debut album’s title is a nod to the French-Belgian director Chantal Akerman’s film No Home Movie .
‘Why a solo record? And why now?,’” Gordon mused of the upcoming solo debut. “I don’t know, but it wouldn’t have happened without the persistence of Justin Raisen. Living in LA the last few years it feels like home, but the transience of the place makes it feel sometimes like no home.”
Since co-founding Sonic Youth in 1981, Kim Gordon has remained at the nexus of music, fashion, art and (more recently) books and film. In the past few years alone, Gordon has debuted in the #1 spot on the NY Times Bestseller List with her 2015 memoir Girl In A Band, acted alongside Joaquin Phoenix and Jonah Hill under the direction of Gus Van Sant (in 2018’s “Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot”), released music and performed as one half of Body/Head alongside Bill Nace, and opened multiple solo-exhibitions at internationally renowned museums.
stream/preorder 'No Home Record'
stream "Sketch Artist"
stream "Murdered Out"
Tracklist
1. Sketch Artist
2. Air BnB
3. Paprika Pony
4. Murdered Out
5. Don’t Play it
6. Cookie Butter
7. Hungry Baby
8. Earthquake
9. Get Yr Life Back
|
Kim Gordon Online :
official Website
Instagram:
With a career spanning nearly four decades, Kim Gordon is one of the most prolific and visionary artists working today. A co-founder of the legendary Sonic Youth, Gordon has performed all over the world, collaborating with many of music’s most exciting figures including Tony Conrad, Ikue Mori, Julie Cafritz and Stephen Malkmus. Most recently, Gordon has been hitting the road with Body/Head, her spellbinding partnership with artist and musician Bill Nace. Despite the exhaustive nature of her résumé, the most reliable aspect of Gordon’s music may be its resistance to formula. Songs discover themselves as they unspool, each one performing a test of the medium’s possibilities and limits. Her command is astonishing, but Gordon’s artistic curiosity remains the guiding force behind her music.
Gordon continues this pursuit on No Home Record, her first-ever solo release, produced by Justin Raisen (Angel Olsen, Yves Tumor, John Cale, Charli XCX, etc.) and recorded at Sphere Ranch in Los Angeles. Borrowing its name from a Chantal Akerman film, No Home Record is, in many ways, a return as much as it is a departure. When Gordon first began playing music in the early 1980s, she used a guitar, a drum machine, and some lyrics sniped from magazine advertisement copy. No Home Recordcontains echoes of that setup, in both form and concept. On “Cookie Butter” (produced by Shawn Everett), Gordon’s vocals jut out insistently over a tinny raindrop beat: “You fucked / You think / I want / You fell.” The song continues, hectic and driving, until finding resolution in the lines “Industrial metal supplies / Cookie butter,” perfectly illustrating Gordon’s singular lyric capacity to meld cultural critique, divulgence and humor.
This captivating ability is further exemplified by “Don’t Play it Back” (produced by Jake Meginsky) where Gordon’s wiry vocals slice the track’s circling electric floor: “You don’t own me / Golden Vanity / You can pee in the ocean / It’s Free.” This nod—with a wink—towards culture’s increasingly fraught (and increasingly commodified) relationship with identity and the self is one of No Home Record’s central themes. “Shopping off a cliff / You’re a breath on my eye / To lose a compass of teeth / Hash away at twitter,” Gordon recites, phosphorescent and dirge-like, on the album’s stunning closer “Get Yr Life Back Yoga,” “Everyday, everyday, everyday / I feel bad for you / I feel bad for me.”
It makes sense that this “American idea” (as Gordon says on the agitated rock track “Air BnB”) of purchasing utopia permeates the record, as no place is this phenomenon more apparent than Los Angeles, where Gordon was born and recently returned to after several lifetimes on the east coast. It was a move precipitated by a number of seismic shifts in her personal life and undoubtedly plays a role in No Home Record’s fascination with transience. The album opens with the restless “Sketch Artist,” where Gordon sings about “dreaming in a tent” as the music shutters and skips like scenery through a car window. “Even Earthquake,” perhaps the record’s most straightforward track embodies this mood; Gordon’s voice wavering like watercolor: “If I could cry and shake for you / I’d lay awake for you / I got sand in my heart for you,” guitar strokes blending into one another as they bleed out across an unstable page. Front to back, No Home Record is an expert operation in the uncanny. You don’t simply listen to Gordon’s music; you experience it. - Elaine Kahn