Yaeji – With a Hammer

Ike wields a sword. Samus somersaults, agilely dropping explosives. Bowser spits fire from afar. But few things beat the giddy thrill of spiking an opponent from a floating platform into the netherworld that is “off the screen” with a hammer in Super Smash Bros. You’ll need Kirby or King Dedede for that. On her new album, Yaeji borrows their weapon of choice to catapult you from one elastic sonic choice to the next, and wallop borders and boundaries into non-existence.

Yaeji has made a name for herself in fleet-footed dance-oriented pop, but on what is her debut album – after EPs and mixtapes, all stifled attempts at a full statement of expression – she has made the excavation of her feelings around freedom, identity and channeled anger into a record that embraces fun and surprising musical juxtapositions.

Fever pairs breathless rapping with grungy guitar, while her fluency in flitting between English and Korean creates a sense of constant understanding with the listener, even when they might not understand the lyrics being sung. On the introspective I’ll Remember For Me, I’ll Remember For You, she addresses this directly: 'When you write it down, the thoughts dissipate and it’s freeing / Even though we don’t share the same mother tongue, I’ll write it down for you, I’ll keep it out for you, I’ll remember for you'. It quite brilliantly captures the appeal of listening to non-English language pop music as a Western listener not too closed-off to embrace it – not understanding the words but otherwise making a connection. What for Yaeji might be a potent examination of the personal has become something universal.

The collaboration-heavy back half’s diminishing returns are saved by Loraine James’s appearance on a dreamy, downtempo track (1 Thing to Smash) that repurposes the woodwinds we hear in the record’s first few seconds. But it’s the likes of lead single For Granted that encapsulate With a Hammer. In its closing 30 seconds, damage is red, and time is running out. The timer clocks out and it’s sudden death. The edges are closing in. And then a rabid drum and bass breakdown splits through the rubbery synths. Game, Yaeji.

Listen to: Submerge FM, Fever, 1 Thing to Smash