In 2024, Kim Gordon and producer Justin Raisen delivered an abrasive fusion of rock, trap and trip-hop with “The Collective,” an immaculately textured record that felt like emerging from an extended doomscrolling session. Distorted guitars, crunchy drums and shifting vocals framed themes of capitalism and social media through a satirical lens. It was a signature sound that worked exceptionally well.

Two years later, “PLAY ME” revisits similar concepts and sonic approaches but in a shorter runtime that minimizes abstraction in favour of directness, both lyrically and instrumentally. The album’s recycled nature is, to a degree, excusable, especially when Gordon and Raisen venture into more fleshed-out, immediately gripping song structures. If anything, it solidifies their mastery of this claustrophobic sound, an aesthetic that remains eerily apt for the current moment.

Gordon’s contempt for the downsides of these times is as present as ever. The opening title track delivers a gigantic middle finger to the over-algorithmicification of music streaming services, as Gordon lists artificially generated playlist names while begging you to play them. 

It’s a nice opener, and despite the message being obvious, it presents a fun reworking of the signature sound crafted by Gordon and Raisen.

Oddly enough, the lead single for “PLAY ME” was one that sounded the most divorced from the previous album. In “NOT TODAY”, Gordon harkens back to her Sonic Youth roots with a gritty rock approach to modern-day malaise. The instrumental may be uncomplicated, but the lyrics are more evocative and impressionistic than anything else here. “DIRTY TECH” constructs a similarly elusive romanticization of tech-industry leadership over a chill beat laced with occasional distortion. Lyrically slight, it nonetheless evokes the best moments of  “The Collective,” with an enjoyable mix of bouncy instrumentation and gleeful satire.

Despite these abstractions lacking in the rest of the album, there are some very fun moments that remind us that the sonic playground that came from “The Collective” is one that can still produce seething condemnations of our society. “BUSY BEE” blends found sounds with heavy drums courtesy of Dave Grohl, featuring Gordon’s most adventurous vocal performance as she shifts pronunciations with a dynamic cadence while tackling the struggle to relax in a beach house. “SUBCON” is a tightly packed track with a relentless bass that shakes the floor. Gordon tackles shrinkflation (by adding the prefix “sub” to everyday words) alongside the housing shortage and the over-ambition of billionaires eyeing Mars. In totality, it’s an anthem for the subtraction of humanity.

“NAIL BITER” covers similar ground to the acclaimed “BYE BYE” from “The Collective,” incorporating sharper drums and framing capitalism as a whirlpool of discontent that can shatter one’s sense of self. Gordon’s plea to be taken out of her body lands as genuinely emotive against an eerie sonic landscape.

And speaking of “BYE BYE,” it’s been repackaged here, shedding the original anti-capitalist dressing to become a giant middle finger to Donald Trump. 

"BYEBYE25!" has Gordon delivering a list of words from his administration’s banned-words list. It’s current and evocative, but it also encapsulates the issue with “PLAY ME”: the material is recycled and somewhat on the nose. This approach is forgivable given the unique excursions it offers, and it affirms Gordon and Raisen’s command of this chaotic sonic landscape.

If you were hoping for an evolution from “The Collective,” “PLAY ME” functions more as an expansion. It remains biting and experimental for the majority of its runtime, but it’s also revisiting the same formula rather than breaking new ground.

7/10