Happy Birthday

Chronique

When the first Sneaks record came out in 2016, its playful charm and blunt minimalism felt so invitingly fresh it was hard to imagine how she could follow it up. The strangely compelling 15-minute wonder of spoken word, drum machine, and bass from Washington, D.C. artist Eva Moolchan had all the hallmarks of a homemade cult classic in the making. Now four albums into her career, Moolchan has charted a remarkable path by toying with her distinctive formula just enough to remain vital and exciting without abandoning what makes her special. Compared to her first two outings, Gymnastics and It's a Myth, 2020's Happy Birthday is far richer in both production value and complexity, but it's still her repetitive half-spoken incantations and wry observations that hold the attention. Working again with engineer Carlos Hernadez, her collaborator from 2019's excellent Highway Hypnosis, as well as producer Jacknife Lee, Happy Birthday feels like a continuation of that album's more experimental tone with delightfully plainspoken lyrics that alternately explore astrological personality traits ("Mars in Virgo" and "Scorpio on Your Side"), her weather preferences ("Winter Weather"), and jabs at systemic racism and politics ("This World" and "You've Got a Lot of Issues"). A big part of Moolchan's appeal is how unshowy she is with her inner confidence. Somehow her casual delivery of lines like "Crack goes the sound of my whip when I get done with you" (from the very smart "Sanity") or "I'm not gonna let you down 'cause we would have to do this all over again and it's tiring me out" (from the dance-grooved "Faith") plays even stronger by its ambivalent tone and witty subtext. Musically, there's still plenty of that stark charm from her early albums as well as some exciting grooves, beats, and odd synth textures that help to push her into new territory. Neither rap nor pop, punk, or rock in any traditional sense, Sneaks continues to keep it fresh and original on another strong outing.
© Timothy Monger /TiVo