LISTENING TO Turtleneckedâs newest release, Swish, I initially made the mistake of thinking of the EP as one cohesive unit. How ignorant of me to expect anything traditional from Harrison Smith, the screaming creature behind the music. The record is a genre-spanning sampler of the 20-year-old Smithâs oddly multifaceted talent. The first half of Swish is very different from the second, but this inconsistency gives us a full tour of Smithâs musical wheelhouse.
The first two tracks, âGallowsâ and âOlivia,â are beautifully constructed, digestible proto-pop songs. The third track, âIn Which You Become the Walls,â is an ambient soundscape thatâd be right at home on Animal Collectiveâs Merriweather Post Pavilion. Once listeners have relaxed into Swish, Smith reaches a crossroads, shocking us back to attention with âAbscond,â his dark and jarring screamo aria. This marks the end of the albumâs first half and, for the remainder of the EP, the end of Turtlenecked.
The rest of Swish contains tracks by DJ Venmo, Smithâs other musical alias. The contrast between âAbscondâ and the first Venmo song, âItâs Lit,â is visually represented on the album cover: Smith hangs from a basketball hoop wearing a bright, pastel jacket and peering into the camera as an ominous storm cloud looms behind. Although united by creator, the angst and emotions of the albumâs opening songs are totally absent from the final tracks.
On Turtleneckedâs previous releases, Smith explored auditory discontent; Aprilâs Pure Plush Bone Cage is a wonderfully lo-fi art-punk record that highlights his most unique and powerful traits, pairing anxious, screaming indie vocals with gentle synth-harp compositions. DJ Venmo is a newer, more lighthearted ventureâthis project swings away from the emotive Turtlenecked for what I hope is only a temporary artistic diversion.
DJ Venmo offers danceable and impressively arranged club fare, once again proving that Smithâs musical competence transcends genre. The cloud-rap vocals are pleasant, the lyrics clever and funny. But as DJ Venmo, Smith doesnât access the same kind of multidimensional artistry that makes Turtlenecked tracks so fun to indulge in.
In the case of Swish, abstaining from genre continuity is more of a punk statement than a lack of production smarts. Jean-Paul Sartreâphilosopher, art-bro hero, and now DJ Venmo lyrical inspiration (on âI Know U from the Internet,â he raps, âexistential like Sartre, feeling so lonely immersed in my beatsâ)âonce said, âMan is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does.â Smith takes full ownership of his erratic creations, but refuses to be condemned by freedom of choice.