TWO FOR TWO!
[Video][Website]
[6.71]
Edward Okulicz: TSJ has a target to cover more Big Freedia songs than songs by Drake. It’s symbolic, arbitrarily picking an interesting artist just on the periphery of what gets critical play over a boring artist who’s everywhere. “Feelin’ Myself” is itself a good entry point to an artist who is herself a good entry point to another world — two minutes and thirty seconds of infectiously repetitive, invigorating and hectoring noise that simultaneously means nothing but feels great. You get different fanfares and samples to give you variety but Freedia’s reassuring fierceness pulls it all together. It’s not prime Freedia but the beginning of this wider acceptance of this joyous relentless style could well be here or not far off.
[8]
Anthony Easton: This doesn’t reach quite as far as it could; there are some great details — the boxing bells, the snare lines, those “ohohoh” bits — but mostly it’s Freedia by the numbers.
[6]
Brad Shoup: While desperately checking Sissy Nobby’s YouTube channel for new videos, I settled for gorging on some leaked tracks. Freedia’s there, in “Dusty Money”: that venerated “gin in my system” line, 10 (!) years old at this point. She’s done the rounds from NPR to Pitchfork, but catchup’s a long way away. As usual, “Feelin’ Myself” is a suite of sorts, designed for the show (“Gonna Fly Now” is hoary everywhere except a live throwdown). The sequencing and synthbeds are a pop/indie olive branch, as is the lack of lyrics about dresser deals. But the kinetics are unparalleled. We’re still working on her terms.
[8]
Alfred Soto: A sucker for stutter-hooks, I’m surprised this track offers a two-note synth bass line as an additional goodie. Where is Freedia anyway?`
[3]
Patrick St. Michel: A high-energy song that also knows how to use the Rocky theme just right – don’t draw it out, but use it to hype up what comes next.
[7]
Crystal Leww: Big Freedia might also be the only person who can make a “Foxy Vixen Ring Fight” video and have it not seem exploitative. All the girls look super happy, and the fact that they’re using Sock’em boppers definitely helps. She might also be the only one who can pull of the line “I like a lot of pepperonis on my pizza” without seeming silly. A lot of this can be credited to Big Freedia’s energy and confidence. She’s amazing, and “Feelin’ Myself” puts out positive vibes all around.
[8]
Jonathan Bogart: She’d have to do something totally crazy to score less than a [6] — like say record a duet with Mumford & Sons — but she’d have to do something I haven’t heard before to score more than an [8]. So.
[7]