When will people learn that; in 2015, pop music is not the enemy? Life’s too short to pretend that you don’t enjoy a catchy pop hook, and these days anyone worth their salt wouldn’t raise an eyebrow if when thumbing through your record collection, they found a Taylor Swift vinyl.
But that said, Grimes’ latest track ‘Entropy’ which also features the talents of Bleachers, has come under fire for being ‘too poppy’. What does ‘too poppy’ even mean? If anything, the negative reaction to ‘Entropy’ has merely shown which people you should probably avoid listening to in future.
‘Entropy’ hints at a more confident Claire Boucher finding her feet and being proud to have done so. In an interview a few years ago, Boucher noted that the music she was making at the time wasn’t necessarily the kind she wanted to make, moreso the music she had to make in order to free up her incredibly creative and complex brain. Her previous uses of whispered almost silent vocals and nervous demeanour when it came to live performances have been banished by the newly emerged Grimes.
The track itself is one of the most addictive tracks that 2015 has thrust our way so far. Produced by the same Jack Antanoff that brought us most of Taylor Swift’s ‘1989’ album, it’s clear to see where some of the influence for this track has come from. ‘Everything I’ve ever known is wrong/Oh what’s the matter with me?’ well Grimes I don’t think there is anything wrong with you. Except maybe in the past attempts to be less pop for fear of upsetting some bearded music journos (but I have just inspected my chin, and as was the same last time I checked; no beard). Not all music has to be serious, and not all of an artists output has to be the same and I for one am glad that Grimes is embracing this; not necessarily new, direction because if her impending album continues on this upwards trajectory, then it might just be the defining moment of the year and of Boucher’s career so far.
By turning up the volume of her voice and trusting her instincts with melody, ‘Entropy’ raises the bar significantly. The important lesson to learn here is that everyone should trust what Grimes has to say and how she says it. Being an artist of sound and physical art, it’s clear that Boucher is heavily constructive in her creativity and the palace within which her and Bleachers have come together, should be heavily applauded, not lambasted.
In fact, if you really want to take gumption with the song for any reason, it should be that this track only came about so that it could be included in the TV show ‘Girls’. Yes, that pesky Lena Dunham is at it again, luring some of our favourite artists into her web of faux feminism. But that’s an entirely different issue entirely (If you hadn’t already guessed, I strongly disagree with the labelling of Lena Dunham as any kind of feminist ‘icon’ when her feminism is not fully inclusive. Sidenote: What even is a feminist hero? It’s not a competition, you can’t win it).