As the rhythmic mastermind behind Hot Chip, Sarah Jones has already proven herself to be infinitely more proficient than “a monkey with a miniature cymbal” on that front; as one half of both NZCA Lines and Technology + Teamwork, she’s also demonstrated previously unprecedented vocal capabilities, albeit taciturnly at times. But, as Jones now steps out solo under the Pillow Person nom de plume, there can be no place for reticence and, with nothing to hide behind, she’s very evidently thriving…
Because Go Ahead, a début that she ostensibly ‘dreamt’ and subsequently sang back into her phone, is nonpareil alt. pop that’s suggestive of some serious in-studio chops. By Jones’ own admission, Joe Goddard may well have helped her ‘make sense of [the] song’, although there’s something discombobulating and, ultimately, brilliantly nonsensical about it all, recalling Hot Chip’s most gelatinous moments, those more bearable bits of the PC Music canon, and Sweet Female Attitude’s forever-evergreen Flowers as its gloopy loops ooze woozily over three, forty-one. And I, for one, will be leaving this one firmly lodged on repeat for the remainder of these summer months.
Go Ahead will be available from Friday, 19th August, via Moshi Moshi.