Mutant is the second studio album by Venezuelan electronic music producer Arca, released on 20 November 2015 via Mute.[2] Arca called it a chronicle of "sensuality and impulsiveness as escape routes out of rigidity".[2] Labeled noise, trap,[3]industrial, and experimental,[4] it was promoted with four singles, critically acclaimed upon release,[5] and ranked as Tiny Mix Tapes' favorite album of 2015.[6]
The Independent described Mutant as an album of "intricately layered sound collages" in which Arca employs mostly machine-made textures "to convey extremes of emotion – be it euphoria, menace, paranoia, melancholy."[7] Sam Richards of NME wrote that while Arca was clearly influenced by R&B, hip hop and dubstep, she distorts and subverts these "familiar aural cues", "never allowing [her] beats to lock into conventional grooves." They commented that "Sever" and "Faggot" use elements of trap, while the calm interludes "Else" and "Extent" act as counterpoints to the record's "more disorientating noise assaults."[3]
Rachel Aroesti of The Guardian said that Mutant profiles Arca's experimental work, eschewing the "corrupted hip-hop beats" of her earlier work in favor of a style that had grown "[i]ncreasingly unaccountable to any kind of rhythmic framework". They added that the music often typically comprises "stabs of industrial sound that eventually assemble into a cranking, Frankenstein's monster of a refrain".[4] Simon Chandler of PopMatters said that "Mutant has Arca throwing everything — glitch, IDM, dubstep, industrial, techno, ambient, noise and world music — into an experimental microcosm of a record, an electronic hothouse where every conceivable touchstone coexists in an awkward, ugly but ultimately breathtaking harmony." They considered this "brand of inchoate, diversified electronica to be "music for a globalized world, for an Earth in which ancient traditions sit alongside the often devastating power of new technologies".[1]
Mutant received widespread acclaim from contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 81, based on 21 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[5]
Mark Richardson of Pitchfork gave the album a very positive review, finding that compared to Arca's previous album Xen, Mutant often eschews the influence of pop and chamber music in favor of more abstract sound design, elaborating that while tracks on the former resembled the works of contemporary electronic and experimental music projects such as Aphex Twin and Alarm Will Sound, Mutant "avoid[s] proper songs" in favor of creating soundscapes and drones. Richardson concludes, "On Mutant, Ghersi turns a fixation on porousness and instability into a kind of spiritual pursuit."[15]
Writing for Exclaim!, Daryl Keating felt Mutant to be an "eventually rewarding", but not an easy listen, arguing that the album lacked in focus compared to her collaborative works with other artists such as Kanye West and Björk.[19]
↑ Cairns, Dan; Edwards, Mark; Verrico, Lisa; Davis, Clive (29 November 2015). "Pop, Rock and Jazz, Nov 29". The Independent. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
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