Visions of broken power sockets and cosmic supercomputers flash in my mind as I listen to the angelic yet tormented music of kuru. Their erratically bright and breaks-heavy album re:wired has the sheen of a hologram and the glimmer of chrome. “Powering down like I’m Sony,” they cry, sunsetting like obsolete hardware. After years of working in the shadows, the Maryland musician’s debut propels us deep into their psyche. It’s a panic room crammed with miseries, victories, betrayals, realizations, and music so dreamy it somehow sounds idyllic.
The Intriguing Sounds of kuru’s re:wired
re:wired teleports between glacial ambient and percussive carnage. kuru’s frail yet feverish voice fills the mix like a permafrost vapor. The 19-year-old artist has the anxious intensity of a paranoiac: Across the album, even within a single song, they skitter between abjection and self-assurance, torpid gloom and absurd asides about eating soup. It’s hard to tell where kuru’s real and artistic selves begin and end, whether they actually want to CTRL+ALT+DELETE their life (“If I died I wouldn’t be opposed to it,” goes a line on “misery ost”) or if they’re roleplaying a character in a sci-fi sad-scape. There’s a clear anime and video game imprint on these tracks, from the titles—“misery ost,” “save;File-9”—to the fried doinks, airbrushed alarms, and beeping printers in every beat. (The “wired” in the title could refer to the psycho-horror anime Serial Experiments Lain, which features a global communications system called the Wired.)
Exploring the Musical Landscape
To the untrained ear, re:wired might hit like an amorphous blast of Auto-Tune and “celestial melody” type beats. The stacking of sounds in a similar range makes some tracks cycle like hyperloops, verses gliding into hooks without the tension of resistance. While kuru’s flow is a consistently slick slipstream, their voice isn’t that emotionally versatile—sometimes you can barely tell when they crash from elation to devastation.
The Emotional Journey Through Music
But often the dissonance between the blue lyrics and the lovely music really works, as if the right sound could spare kuru from distress. “vo://id” cries out with physical and psychic pain—images of ripped skin, a body stretched thin, aching bones—while the beat radiates euphoria and uplift, a real-life RPG potion. Squint your ears and the tonal shifts and rhythmic variations are subtle but hypnotic. “yume” is the most relentless track but still feels plush; kuru bludgeons the mix like a satin mallet, their voice swathed in layers of ad-libs and dizzy glossolalia like a Saya track. “I would rather kill myself than fuck with you,” they roar, a perfect distillation of the album’s emo-aggro duality. “give me a second” might be the straight-up sweetest song, an ambient rap meadow of naked confessions. “I’d be lying if I said I hate everything/What I hate the most is feeling vacant,” they moan.
Conclusion
Overall, kuru’s re:wired album offers a unique blend of emotions and sounds that take listeners on a journey through the artist’s psyche. From haunting lyrics to ethereal melodies, each track presents a different facet of kuru’s musical identity. Dive into the world of re:wired and experience the raw intensity of kuru’s debut album.
FAQs
Q: What is the inspiration behind kuru’s re:wired album?
A: The album draws inspiration from anime and video game aesthetics, blending elements of sci-fi and emotion to create a unique sonic experience.
Q: How does kuru’s voice contribute to the overall atmosphere of the album?
A: kuru’s frail yet feverish voice adds a layer of intensity and vulnerability to the music, creating a haunting and immersive listening experience.
Q: What sets re:wired apart from other albums in the genre?
A: The dissonance between the emotional lyrics and the dreamy music sets re:wired apart, offering a complex and captivating musical journey for listeners.
Credit: pitchfork.com
