It’s gauzy ambient, but it’s not because of the unremitting power
of the central beat. It’s IDM, but it’s not because of Bikini’s
underlying pop sensitivities. It’s sample-based, textured pop, but not
because the beats are self-made. If Bikini refuse to be tied down, what
am I doing with a rope?
If Bikini set out to defy genre classification, they did a pretty damn good job. Making my job describing sound a hell of a lot harder, “ACheerlaeder” ignores traditional song structure, inverts the relationship of voice atop melody and layer disparate elements into an elusive whole. If Bikini had just continued the sunshine laptop-pop of their debut E.P., Concerning the Number 7 and Your Love, I could have drawn a connecting line and all would be, well, effable. Alas, they do a few hundreds turns until your disorientation leaves you at “ACheerlaeder”.
We’re immediately introduced to the song’s central idea, and over four-minutes, it builds and drops and builds until a chaotic finale. Each listen offers more discovery and extraction; “ACheerlaeder” becomes increasingly emotional, stimulating and simply beautiful. God is in the details on this one.
