Review Summary: Bright spots that fail to shine.
Grimes' debut album
Geidi Primes has everything. In the album, she tries too hard to include so much, perhaps in the hopes of developing the
Grimes sound, but, in pursuit of the original and imaginative, the album is derivative. It's too much of everything else, and not enough of her. Because she tries amalgamating different sounds from various regions, the songs don't flow smoothly into and out of each other; the only part holding them together is her vocals which are definitely
Grimes, but even they are not enough to make the album cohesive.
She based
Geidi Primes on Frank Herbert's science fiction novel
Dune which is way too long but the far shorter film might give listeners the chance to understand the inspiration for
Geidi Primes. In the context of the novel and film, the album makes far more sense. It kind of serves as an alternative soundtrack to the movie which is cool, but it doesn't help listeners who haven't read the book or seen the film. In addition, because Grimes uses a concept other than her own in
Geidi Primes, she gives up the opportunity to fully establish her own sound. Nonetheless, several bright spots somewhat redeem this all-over-the-place album.
The album opens with promise. “Caladan,” the wonderfully whimsical track opening track, exudes innocence. Between the scattered piano, vocals, and percussion, Grimes brings about an instrumental conversation. The piano talks back and forth with the percussion, helping the track come to a satisfying close. Most of the songs, however, such as “Sardaukar Levenbrech” and “Zoal, Face Dancer” serve as forgettable background noise; definitely pleasant and dreamy, but they're ultimately underwhelming. Furthermore, many tracks, while extremely varied in terms of melody and vocal color, are extremely repetitive. “Rosa,” a complex and heavily layered track, is the first song to disrupt the mood of the album with its ill-fitting guitar riff. However, out of context, “Rosa” might've succeeded as a song, but simply can't because of the repetition which makes it one of the few annoying tracks on the album. Grimes executes repetition better on “Avi” and even more effectively on “Feyd Rautha Dark Heart.” They both get better and better, building on the strengths initially present in the songs and adding new dimensions as they progress, despite relying on one lyrical phrase in both: “I will take your breath away” and “I won't break your heart (in the dark)” respectively.
Geidi Primes shows both Grimes' naivety and talent. She goes all out in an attempt to capture anything and everything, but falls short. The gems in this album cannot fully shine because of the nonsense surrounding them. “Gambang” combines too many incompatible sounds giving it a folksy and futuristic feel which just doesn't work. Furthermore, the intro of “Venus in Fleurs” sounds like it would fit right in with the theme music for any horror or mystery film. And then, the battle-field music or as Grimes calls it, “Shadout Mapes,” belongs in a Chinese epic. What's unfortunate is that, while these songs don't fit in this album, they could've come through individually, but fail to because Grimes discontinues the sound they start with, going into some unknown realm, and the listener's just like “what?” by the end of these songs. Far too frequently, she backtracks on the momentum she achieves which is a sign that Grimes was still discovering who she was as an artist when she created
Geidi Primes. If anything, this album lets her audience in on the interesting ideas she had roaming around in her mind at the time.
In conclusion,
Geidi Primes simply doesn't work together as a whole. It could've benefited from better sequencing, but in the end there's just too much going on which holds it back from greatness.
Recommended Tracks: Caladan, Avi, Feyd Rautha Dark Heart, and Grisgris.
