Nicky Click: I'm On My Cell Phone

A producer, beatmaker, video artist, songwriter and performance artist from Durham, New Hampshire, Nicky Click is also a petulant bitch. But that's probably exactly how she wants it. I'm on My Cell Phone (Crunks Not Dead), her sophomore effort, is an imaginative hodgepodge of minimalist hip-hop and urban folk that doesn't sound like anyone in particular — the likes of Peaches, Miranda July and even Lady Sovereign are certainly influences, but Click's casually snotty delivery puts her on an island all her own. From the spoiled girl of the catchy but simplistic title cut through the sexual predators of "Fuck Machine" and "Ice Cream Girl," Click invents a variety of characters and alter egos in order to deliver some sort of female-empowerment message. While the coherence of said message is debatable, Click's flair in delivering it and the trancelike music is hard to ignore. "I'm gonna stay away from them, their pleasure is too intriguing," she purrs on "Crazy Shit," as the beats bang away behind her. This is indeed some crazy shit, the kind of music that can captivate and repulse at the same time. Perhaps that's recommendation enough.