Grimes Presents ‘March of the Pugs’ Will Arrive at Shrine Auditorium  

Matt Matasci

Few musicians have made as much of an impact on electronic music in the last decade as Claire Boucher, the mastermind behind Grimes. Hailing from Vancouver, British Columbia, Boucher released two well-received albums that, while not making much of an impact, carved out a solid following with electro-pop fans. That all changed in 2012 when Grimes released “Visions,” an album that included singles like “Genesis” and “Oblivion” and made her an elite name among indie pop artists. Suddenly, she went from playing mid-sized clubs to theaters and from opening up festivals to seeing her name amongst the headliners at the country’s most popular music festivals. In the midst of an international tour in support of “Art Angels,” Grimes arrives in Los Angeles for a performance at the Shrine Expo Hall in April.

In 2015, fans saw the release of “Art Angels,” the long-awaited follow-up to Grimes’ 2012 breakthrough. Much like its predecessor, it topped most publications’ year-end lists. Taking the avant-garde textures and song structures of “Visions” and expanding on them even further, “Art Angels” features some of the most challenging yet infectious singles of the year. There were fears that Grimes was going to go too far in pursuing her mainstream influences when the single “Go” was released; it’s a fairly straightforward song that was written for (and rejected by) Rihanna. Responding to harsh criticism by some in regards to the single, Boucher scrapped the sessions she had completed on her follow-up to “Visions” and started fresh with what would become “Art Angels.”

What makes Grimes so special is her ability to co-opt mainstream and underground pop sounds and weave them together into a one-of-a-kind tapestry. The album’s latest single Kill V. Maim is a perfect example of this songwriting dichotomy. The song jumps from cheerleader-like chants to screaming vocals to angelic harmonies that would not sound out of place on Top 40 radio. “Flesh Without Blood,” the album’s lead single is even more pop-oriented. It’s another step in the lineage that began with “Oblivion” and “Genesis” but taking the pop hooks a step further.

Catch Grimes on April 21 at the Shrine Expo Hall just outside of Downtown Los Angeles. Find tickets for the event here.