Native Speaker
“I found my place in the wishing well/I found my place not feeling well,” sings Braids vocalist/guitarist Raphaelle Standell-Preston, summing up the Montreal foursome’s mix of euphoria and ambiguity. Their debut takes the beatific psychedelic washes of Animal Collective back to the testy clatter of punk-folk wild women the Raincoats — an at times nutty, at times serene, mash-up of pastoral guitar babble, minimal orchestral drones, loopy chorale vocals and porous, roiling rhythms. Standell-Preston holds it together, trilling “I can’t stop it” or “it doesn’t really matter how many times you say no” or “have you fucked all those dragons yet,” sucking us in while she keeps us guessing.
Listen to Braids’ “Lemonade”: