Rhythm & Views

Macromantics

Romy Hoffman used to play guitar in Ben Lee's Noise Addict, but Hoffman has since discovered hip-hop, and Macromantics, or Miss Macro, is her MC name. Moments in Movement, her first album, has moments that move better than others: On some tracks, Miss Macro's voice is downright annoying, and some of the rhymes sound forced or just plain weird ("Lemony Snicket / speak squeaker, what's up Melanie Griffith").

But then "Dark Side of Dallas," which features instrumentation by fellow Australians Ground Components (who, strangely enough, have a member named Dallas), swoons in strange realms: "She's screaming 'stop!' and bleeding dots / leaning on a teething God," Miss Macro drawls. "Locksmith" has both guest rapper Sage Francis and Miss Macro telling autobiographical stories, but the brilliance of the song lies in the chorus: Male and female robotic voices take turns saying, "I feel a little apprehensive talking to you about my life in my own voice" as the synthesizers crash. The song dwells on the relationship between technology and formations of identity; Francis raps about picking locks to break free, and Hoffman talks about "using pencil lead to draw her own conclusions."

To then suddenly move to lyrics like "I'm laconic / shy and torrid, I like the Sonics" ("Bandwagon") is an enormous letdown. The contemporary pop-culture references sprinkled throughout are jarring and ineffective; Moments in Movement would move better without them.