Courtesy of Columbia Records
This March, Catherine Grace Garner, better known by her stage name Slayyyter, released her album “WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA.” Following a five-single buildup, the St. Louis-born artist delivers her most authentic voice in her long-awaited electropop dance album. The album diverges — both in sound and writing — from her last two albums, “STARFUCKER” and “Troubled Paradise.” She completely shifts away from the hyperpop sound that she built earlier in her career, which was playful, sensual and minimalistic; instead, she pushes her production to its limits with loud, industrial, punk and chaotic sounds. She cites artists like Death Grips, M.I.A., Gorillaz and the album “Yeezus” by Kanye as inspirations.
“WOR$T GIRL IN AMERICA” constantly shocks its listeners with unexpected production that builds up, glitches and gets louder, often alongside her vocals that develop into screams and shouts. The opening track and fourth single released, “DANCE…,” sets this tone for the rest of the album by starting off with a 55-second buildup, followed by darker EDM production as she expresses her frustrations about being approached by strangers at the club when she just wants to dance. The angsty bridge descends into vocal slides and melodies with aggressive vocals, asserting her presence on the dance floor and reclaiming it.
One of my favorite aspects of this album is that most songs do not have just one hook — every verse and chorus feels like a hook in itself. The verses, choruses and refrains in “CANNIBALISM,” for instance, are all independently catchy. She creates a diverse melodic palette on top of a unique surf rock production. Whenever I shuffle my favorite tracks of the year and this song plays, it never fails to captivate my attention.
The album is at its loudest in tracks like “CRANK,” “YES GODDD” and “I’M ACTUALLY KINDA FAMOUS.” One of my favorite tracks and the most popular from this album, “CRANK,” gave us the iconic line “I get so gay off that tequila” along with glitchy background vocals that have become my new favorite vocal stimulation. “YES GODDD” and “I’M ACTUALLY KINDA FAMOUS” are similar in the sense that they both start off slower and then descend into a roar. They feel chaotic, aggressive, yet still polished. “YES GODDD” might have just my favorite outro of any song as it ends with a sudden beat switch, constant glitches, hypnotic synths, and spaced-out vocals and incoherent words in the background that sound like hallucinations you would hear on a psychedelic trip.
Slayyyter takes inspiration from artists like Crystal Castles in the track “GAS STATION,” a toned-down song that is her most vulnerable of the album. Set to a high-tempo EDM beat, the song describes being abandoned at a gas station by a loved one. It is reminiscent of tracks like “Everything is Embarrassing” by Sky Ferreira or “Dancing on My Own” by Robyn — vulnerable, but very danceable.
Toward the second half of the album, she leans into more of a conventional pop sound in songs like “UNKNOWN LOVERZ” and “WHAT IS IT LIKE TO BE LIKED,” but with her own edgy glitch-pop twist. “OLD TECHNOLOGY” is one of my other personal favorites, Slayyyter describes it as an electro-punk track that explores her relationship with drugs, relapse and self-destruction. It sounds chaotic and harsh, reflecting what it feels like to give up on trying too hard and giving in to bad habits.
Overall, the album sounds like being in the peak Tumblr era, when iPods were dominating the scene. It captures the sound of M.I.A. along with the aesthetic of Lana Del Rey while maintaining a unique and authentic voice throughout. It is a huge step up for Slayyyter as she masterfully explores and incorporates genres and sounds she has not explored before. It has been described many times as the spiritual successor to “BRAT,” and so far it holds true as far as electropop music goes this decade.
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