In a recent interview with the Guardian, Claire Boucher describes her song “California” as “kind of shitty.” Via her stage name, Grimes, Boucher has released an eclectic and not-at-all-“shitty” catalogue of hybrid dance pop that has seized the attention of critics and listeners internationally. “California,” the second track from her lauded new record, Art Angels, sounds at first like a catchy pop song, albeit very catchy. A hook of this caliber doesn’t come around every day. It grabs us by the lapels and shakes us awake. But what makes the song truly fresh is Boucher’s lyrical critcism of the male dominated media landscape. The reality of gender bias might be the only “shitty” thing about this bright and memorable track.
