Tune-Yards
Better Dreaming
4AD [2025]
“A chopped, looped, soul-funk celebration of joy, ego death, and rainbow-colored resilience.”
Album Overview: When you hear the band name Tune-Yards thrown around, it’s hard not to have an IFYKYK mindset. Releasing some of the most exciting albums of the 2010s—including W H O K I L L and Nikki Nack—Merrill Garbus and partner Nate Brenner have been a musical breath of fresh air. After the 2021 album sketchy. and one Amazon Prime series soundtrack later, Tune-Yards returns to rear their mighty and beautiful weird.
Better Dreaming shows the band reveling in a simplistic joy that—just like in the early beginnings—builds the songs around drum looping and rhythmic sway. Garbus catapults her rebellious spirit forward, with multiple things feeding the album: COVID isolation, time away from live shows that lent more focus, and—to quote the album bio—“the insane experience of growing an actual human being.”
Musical Style: Better Dreaming is a messy, chopped-and-screwed adventure in optimistic indie pop and soul-funk, looping and layering with Brenner’s bass holding it all together. Something about W H O K I L L and Nikki Nack made a grander statement, but Better Dreaming maintains an air of “less is more.”
Evolution of Sound: Garbus has always had a powerful voice, and—returning to the theme of intimacy—it feels even more front and center here. The band continues their studio chops to layer and layer Merrill after Merrill, creating vocal towers that stretch to the heavens. This album isn’t a reinvention of the band. Tune-Yards invites us into their heart-filled dance party, with in-song studio chatter and the welcome insight of their 3-year-old getting in on the fun.
Artists with Similar Fire: The roots of the Dirty Projectors and early Animal Collective are still present. The album also takes swings into Parliament-Funkadelic territory, as well as Atoms for Peace soundscapes. It can get dark and mysterious and then turn joyous and danceable at the drop of a hat.
Pivotal Tracks: “Swarm” takes its tangled bass line and gives advice on positive herd mentality. “Suspended” goes for a lovely, stripped feel as Garbus’ storytime vocals airily float above bass and tambourine. “Limelight” stands out as the album’s strongest track, giving off real danceable Kool and the Gang vibes. “How Big Is the Rainbow” is a dead ringer for inclusivity club banger of the year. “Sanctuary” is the final affirmation of self that the album deserves to end on.
Lyrical Strength: If the album doesn’t champion love and positivity, then Tune-Yards didn’t write it. Better Dreaming continues the tradition of strong lyrical themes that the band is known for. This album lives out loud with stories of individualistic action, ego death, leaving the place better than you found it for the next generation, familial love, and—in these crazy times—a “the only way out is through” mentality.
Final Groove: Getting a new Tune-Yards record should always feel like an event—because it is. Better Dreaming showcases a band that is uniquely its own. Garbus and Brenner keep it safe, but give us proof that the chopped-and-screwed affirmation record can still be genuine and not saccharine. With this album, Tune-Yards announces that the revolution will be danceable! And after more than a few listens, you’ll echo that sentiment.
TUNE-YARDS REVIEW HISTORY
Nikki Nack (2014)
TUNE-YARDS LINKS
Website | Instagram | Facebook | Bandcamp | 4AD
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