Judy Kang
Self-titled
Self-Released
Street: 03.05
Judy Kang = Liz Fraser + Yellow Magic Orchestra x Phillip Glass + Maksim
A comparison to Bjork is not the way to my heart; her music is like listening to a fax machine have a nervous breakdown. Ditto art featuring pouting and adorably quirky wunderkind Julliard grads holding cute little purse dogs, pet names by Lady Gaga and shout outs to God! None of this screams “awesome music” to me. But if the liner notes seem strangely preachy, twee and self-indulgent, Judy Kang (who’s played with Ryuichi Sakamoto of YMO and Gaga and 12-tone experimental composer Pierre Boulez) actually makes some awesome music. Turns out the hype is well-deserved, if misdirected. I was partial to the synthpop sweetness of “You,” and the initially languid but increasingly frantic experimentalism of “Everything is Pink.” “Electric Sun” recalls interstitial music from Pink Floyd’s early days, but the majority of the music here is introspective classical––undeniably beautiful and a far cry from the bubblegum pink cover. I can even hear Bjork comparisons without wanting to make sure my telecom equipment doesn’t need therapy. If there’s a lesson here for musicians, it’s that less is more in the PR department; the lesson for me is to stop judging musicians by their pink fiddles and Chihuahuas. –Madelyn Boudreaux