Album Review: Dua Saleh - Nūr
I’d like to think that I would have eventually heard about
the Sudan-born, and Twin Cities based, non-binary performer Dua Saleh—but the
recent and relatively positive review of their debut EP, Nūr, gracing the home page of Pitchfork,
certainly helped.
That same day,
probably not by coincidence, an internet acquaintance of mine shared the EP’s
cover art on Facebook, simply saying, “Holy crap—I’m obsessed.” After he
mentioned who it was, the Pitchfork review, as well as the recent Star
Tribune profile, were the first two things to come up from my Google
search.
Saleh, all of 23 years old, is alleged to be a bit of a
reluctant performer—specifically when it comes to music. They have recently
graduated from Augsburg University with an emphasis in sociology—an ‘activist’
is one of the descriptors mentioned in both the Star Tribune piece as well as the Pitchfork review. Prior to the
release of Nūr, Saleh was
making a name for themselves in both the Twin Cities theatre community, as well
as with the Button Poetry Live series—their piece, “Pins and Needles,” became a
viral sensation of sorts.
Their first attempt
at music, a single entitled “Black and Blue,” was released online at some point
a number of years ago, though Saleh removed it within a day (all traces of it
now have been scrubbed from the internet)—they took it down because they
thought, “Does anybody really want to hear this?” They returned in 2017 with
another one-off single, “First Take,” which received a blurb via Minnesota
Public Radio’s The Current.
In retrospect, you
could say that “First Take” is a very early and rough attempt at crafting the
sound they would eventually develop over time; Nūr is, in a sense, a
long gestating and labored over proper introduction to an alarmingly talented
young artist who, with the help of a handful of Twin Cities collaborators, has
created a dense, fascinating, and otherworldly soundscape that serves as the
backdrop for Saleh’s voice—unique, theatrical, captivating, hypnotic, and at times,
unnerving.
A concise five
tracks, Nūr is the kind of EP that walks that line between trying not to
overstay its welcome, but also is compelling enough to leave you wishing it
were slightly longer.
The collection opens with the raunchy, lusty, jaunty, and
satirical “Sugar Mama,” where Saleh, over a minimalistic but quick tempo, more
or less pats themselves on the back for their own mysterious, worldly sexuality,
or at least how it’s interpreted by others outside of their Sudanese culture—first
by saying they made a woman’s “pussy melt” like a glacier; then, near the end
of the song, makes the bold statement, “creaming extra heavy ‘cause my head
game is so good-ah.”
The entire time, Saleh rarely, if ever, takes a break, and
is unrelenting in their cadence and delivery—playful, but also delivered with a
straight faced seriousness at times, all of which shows off their background
with as an actor as well as a spoken word poet.
As the rest of Nūr unfolds, you get a feel for the sound that Saleh and their
collaborator, like the Twin Cities based producer Psymun (who has worked with
The Weeknd and Young Thug), are creating. The Star Tribune piece likens
it to something between the sultry modern R&B of F.K.A. Twigs and the
idiosyncratic electronic charm of Bjork. And yes, sure, you can make those comparisons,
but in even listening to Nūr once all the way through, you can hear that
Saleh is in a class all to her own, making expansive, challenging, accessible,
and fearless music.
The high point, or
at least most startling piece on Nūr comes in its centerpiece, “Warm
Pants.” Part of that has to do with the production—the very intentional
rhythm with which the percussion hits, leaving large gaps of silence that, in
turn become instruments themselves; the icy atmospherics that coast just
underneath the song’s main layer; and the muffled, quaint riff that more or
less powers the whole song.
The other part,
though, is the way Saleh delivers their vocals; it’s not just a delivery—it’s a
real performance, full of tension, drama, and it’s crafted to make you mildly
uneasy, but it’s fascinating in such a way that you need to continue listening,
even though you’re not sure where Saleh is taking you.
One of the many
astounding and admirable things about Nūr is how well rounded of a
release it is from start to finish. Following that lusty opener, Saleh slinks
to a borderline whimsical groove with the infectious “Albany”—and the EP
concludes “Survival” and “Kickflip.”
The former is the
set’s moodiest, which features a guest turn from Jeremy Nutzman, a.k.a. Velvet
Negroni, a similarly minded in sound, incredibly esoteric performer also based
out of the Twin Cities; the latter features minimalistic, reserved takes on
glitchy, electro-infused pop—bringing Nūr full circle in a way, as it
has, throughout the five songs featured, found Saleh commanding the give and
take between up tempo ‘fun’ songs, and the more introspective, darker sounding
tracks.
Given Saleh’s own reservations about a foray into recording
and performing music, it’s difficult to gauge when, if ever, a full-length, or
even a follow up to Nūr would
arrive; it’s easy to get caught up in the ‘album cycle,’ and want more from an
artist right way. Dua Saleh doesn’t own us, as listeners, anything, however;
and we should be thankful that they even gave us this moment in time—taking a
personal risk with Nūr, Saleh has made an undeniably impressive artistic
statement that demands your attention.
Nūr is out now as a digital download from Against Giants.
Nūr is out now as a digital download from Against Giants.
Comments
Post a Comment