Known primarily for it’s stake in Dubstep, London based record label Hyperdub has traditionally released work by artists like Burial, The Bug and Joker. Hyperdub’s world is a wobbly, cracking, grimey, sinewy machine world, the sound of the inner monologue of one of those tentacled killer squid robots in The Matrix.
Enter into this realm, Jessy Lanza…and her Jeremy Greenspan-produced 2-step R&B debut “Pull My Hair Back“.
The necessary yin to Hyperdub’s generally masculine yang, Lanza’s debut fits well in the mix (like labelmate Laurel Halo.)
But where Halo purposefully creates a heady, desensualized groove (as if to say “anything you can do, I can do better”) Lanza is in full on siren mode bringing Pleasure Principle-era Janet Jackson vibes.
If Halo is on the court playing ball and holding her own in the pick-up game, steady dunking on fools, Lanza is pink bubble gum popping and walking into the park in her Reeboks intent on stopping the game.
Her sugary, whispered vocals are perfectly complemented by the downtempo experimental quiet storm vibes that Greenspan has perfected after years of Junior Boys slow jams. Greenspan has been working overtime and has put out a number of twitchy bangers on Caribou’s Daphni label, but this has more in common with Toro Y Moi than Greenspan’s most recent work.
A spectacularly self-assured debut, “Pull My Hair Back” is hot…and even though summer’s over and school is back in session, new girl Jessy Lanza just walked into Chemistry class in a cute miniskirt and sat at the head of the class…good luck focusing on anything else this week.