Miss Grit – Under My Umbrella
Miss Grit's latest album is an intense and often leftfield collection of songs – and a decisive success for the singular Margaret Sohn
Under My Umbrella is nine tracks charged by an angular pulse, sustained by Margaret Sohn’s singular vision – orchestral lush textures give way to techno, or crunched noise, all behind the crooning soar of their voice. It’s pop without easy resolutions; these are dense compositions that often veer into leftfield territory, like the plucked exuberant outro for Won’t Count On You.
As evident in the titles for openers Tourist Mind and Mind Disaster, these songs come in pairs. Sometimes this leads to an intensity that gets samey – Overflow is literally what it’s called, extending the previous anthemic track You Will Change past its welcome. But variation can be found on the rest of the record: Won’t Count On You is a dial-tone ballad, Stranger is the most trip-hop cut on the album, and closer Waste Me takes a brighter approach to the album’s whole aural palette.
If you love acts like Psychic Twin, Olga Bell or Lali Puna, this is for you. It's a decisive success from one of NYC’s most distinct exports – though its head may sometimes come before the beat, it is no doubt an impressive achievement.
Listen to: Tourist Mind, Mind Disaster, Waste Me