Grimes - Visions (CD, Vinyl LP)

As Pitchfork and the blogosphere go crazy over this lady, is it another case of us mere mortals being  left wondering what all the fuss is really about? Opener 'Infinite Without Fulfilment' sounds EXACTLY like an R&B hit of recent vintage that I just can't place and is a really inauspicious start. 'Genesis' though is probably the track that could win me over with its tuneful synths recalling the likes of Plaid but shot through with a pop sensibility -  hi end twinkly synth melodies and a catchy echoed vocal that layers on top of itself rather effectively. I'm terribly unsure about her voice  - its high pitch squeak recalls Cyndi Lauper at her most shrill , yet is really effective on this track. The vocals are kind of wordless so theres nothing to grab onto yet the track fits perfectly somewhere in between haunted electronica and an '80s-referencing pop hit. 'Oblivion' veers further into standard 80's tinny pop  - a Debbie Gibson re-aligned for the post M.I.A generation, the melody recalling almost exactly Tiffany's 'I Think We're Alone Now'. If Grimes voice is shrill in its natural form, 'Eight' sees it pitch-shifted up to a tone only audible to dogs. 'Circumambient' and 'Vowels'  veer somewhere towards soulful with some nice electronic stabs and a heartfelt vocal in each case but I'm still left with the horror memories of mid-'80s Madonna B sides.