"Me, I'm a creator / thrill is to make
it up / the rules I break got me a place up on the radar." Those
lyrics—from the M.I.A.-aping track "Creator," off of Santogold's
self-titled debut—smack of wearisome indie-hop posturing. But when
nestled amid songs that liberally pluck bits from new wave, indie rock, dub,
post-punk, and a host of other influences, the boast rings true, and validates
Santogold's next-big-thing status. Santogold (a.k.a. songwriter Santi White, who has
worked as a hired gun for popsters Lily Allen and Ashlee Simpson) manages to
weave together a strange amalgam of tracks that sound almost nothing alike, yet
are unmistakably part of the same whole. Credit goes in part to her distinctive
voice and ace production from collaborator John Hill, plus a sprinkling of
hotshot knob-turners like Diplo and Switch, but Santogold's relentless
disregard for genre boundaries in the service of a stellar pop song is the real
glue that holds the album together. Though at times it threatens to become
overbearing in its eclecticism, Santogold's solid lyricism and pop sensibility
keep the album from disappearing up its own ass. Her concern lies more with
party-starting than cred-boosting.
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