Photo: Aidan Cullen
Listening to Brooklyn-based artist binki feels like being hurled through time, racing through the DIY spirit of a New York past one moment only to be propelled forward to the triumphant but short-lived era of dance-punk the next. The result is an artist project that skates along the fringes to deliver something greater than any sum of its lingering influences, existing solely in the here and now, at this one present moment in time. Nowhere is this more apparent than in binki's debut EP, Motor Function, which functions as an exhilarating showcase of his relentless, infectious vision.
Following a time of personal and professional upheaval, Motor Function arrives at a pivotal moment for binki. The past year has seen the artist blow up on TikTok, with past singles "Heybb!" and "Seasick" both earning their time in the sun, pen a deal with the FADER label, and, of course, sort out what it means to exist as an artist who draws inspiration from daily life during a time where every day repeats with an unending sense of monotony.
Crafted in the throes of quarantine and on the heels of viral success, you could then forgive Motor Function for lacking a certain bite, playing it safe, or failing to capture the transfixing maelstrom of a mind let to run free. Yet, from the very opening moments of the EP's opener "Clay Pigeon," any such creative concessions become nothing more than a critic's fantasy. Over four tracks, binki moves at a breakneck clip, delivering lines that exist somewhere between slack jaw drawl and impassioned howl. "Landline," in particular, with its dynamic, dance-inducing production and ethereal guitar lines placed behind a veil of unabating instrumentation, feels like another breakout moment waiting to happen.
As Motor Function barrels towards its inevitable conclusion, binki emerges unscathed as a singular artist resolute in his distinctive vision. In many ways, it's a debut that perfectly sets the stage for what's to come while simultaneously serving as a cathartic release from the time that defined its inception.
Listen to Motor Function below:
