Review: Santogold - Santogold

The last review on this blog was not a very favorable one, so I figured I'd review something I actually liked so I don't seem like a cold, petty bastard. Today's review is the self-titled album by Santogold. Santogold hails from Philadelphia, where she was a member of the punk/ska group Stiffed. I haven't heard Stiffed, so I can't really make a reference to her previous work.

General Feeling: Listening to this album is like listening to a mix tape and then suddenly realizing that it is really just one artist, and that is, surprisingly, a good thing. Ska, grime, and post-punk influences run rampant and play nice on this pretty good debut.

Full Review: Santogold's album is not exactly the most coherent in style, but all of the styles that she uses mesh well together in the framework of the album. The variance in styles help keep the album interesting and makes you want to listen to the whole thing in a sitting because you are not bogged down with the same hooks and tricks every song. The album starts off with "L.E.S. Artistes" which sounds like a Tegan and Sara song, only more electronic. The song "You'll Find a Way" shows Santogold's ska roots, and reminiscent of No Doubt but... good.

The two artists that Santogold seems to channel the most are M.I.A. and Siouxsie Sue. The use of rap and noise channel M.I.A., especially the songs "Shove It" and "Creator". While Santogold is not near as good as M.I.A. it is nice to see someone else follow in M.I.A.'s footsteps (besides Lady Sovereign, if you believe Last.fm). The song "My Superman" is so creepily like Siouxsie that I had trouble believing I wasn't listening to Mantaray.

Overall, this album is amazing fun, good dance songs, good trip-hop songs, and never boring. There is a pretty good remix of "You'll Find a Way" tacked on at the end. Some have said that the lack of coherence in style will hurt Santogold, I say that if she keeps it interesting it will only make her stronger. Good work!

Final Word: Buy it! I would say go over to Emusic and download it there!