It’s pretty hard to keep secrets in the music world these days, but aside from a couple of musical clues, Kanye West has kept the details of his upcoming album, “Yeezus” (due to drop on June 18), largely under wraps.
Last night, however, the veil was lifted a little more during his headline slot at the Governors Ball festival on Randall’s Island, and the sounds that poked through the covers were hugely impressive.
With expectations already sky high, Yeezy teased the crowd further by arriving 20 minutes late, but the powerful opening combo of “Black Skinhead” and “New Slaves” (first heard during his recent “SNL” performance) was worth the wait.
The aggressive sound of both tracks was backed up by images of attack dogs and sinister figures clad in KKK-style hoods, only black. Certainly not the usual “Hey, New York, how you doing?” greeting the fans at the Governors Ball had heard countless times over the the weekend.
That provocative feel was one Kanye returned to frequently during the early part of the set. One new cut showcased a blizzard of cold but mesmeric techno beats, while another scintillating number (“I Am a God”) was built on a searing bass throb and featured a noise breakdown consisting mainly of Kanye’s feral screams.
It felt less like watching a supremely confident hip-hop star than it did seeing a punk rocker disappear into self-destruction — something which the man himself would undoubtedly take as a huge compliment.
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The hits came, too; “POWER,” “All of the Lights” and “Heartless” were all tossed in, but the fact that Kanye can move a crowd has long been without question.
What stood about this show was not his past, but his future. Toward the end, he offered some justification of where he is headed, hinting that he had deliberately avoided radio fodder for the new album. “We just made some real music,” he explained. “Honestly, when I listen to the radio, I don’t wanna be there no more. I don’t give a f–k about outside opinions.”
The exciting proof of that is becoming apparent, and more power to him.
Although Kanye was easily the biggest draw of the weekend, the final day of the Governors Ball hid plenty of strong performances. The torrential rain on Friday had left Randall’s Island looking like a quagmire, while the smell of feces and suspicious fish tacos was virtually inescapable. But a late-afternoon set from Foals provided a superb diversion. The British group has been long been adored in the underground for its nimble dance-rock, but their main-stage appearance boasted a much heavier tone and indicated they won’t be a cult act much longer.
The Brooklyn contingent was represented through solid if unspectacular sets from Yeasayer, Beirut and Grizzly Bear, but the biggest disappointment came courtesy of Londoners the xx. It wasn’t due to any ineptitude on their part, but simply because their hushed and intimate songs often sound like a few people muttering in a corner amid the din of a hedonistic festival crowd. And, judging by the piles of beer cans left behind, Governors Ball fans partied harder than most.