Mutant is probably a great way to summarize Arca’s music: it does feel mutant-like: something unfamiliar and unsettling, and something from a different planet where music is a different entity and lacks many of the same rules that we have here.
You likely have already heard some of Arca’s work: he’s known for his production, which I’ve been told Kanye uses to great effect all over Yeezus. (By that description alone, you’ll probably already know if Arca is for you.) Alt-J also made a side comment on Tumblr this week where they said they believed he was the best electronic producer working today.
All of that is pretty high industry praise, which means Arca is no doubt going to get more popular with the average Joe any time now. Mutant is his sophomore solo work, and while I can’t exactly figure out what would be a single, I can understand why it’s going to get popular. This is a work that is truly original: it defies convention, often doesn’t even sound like music, and yet somehow continues to throb along to some sort of terrifying beat.
It’s the musical equivalent of a slasher movie.
That all being said, I’ll go out on a limb and say this album isn’t for me. But I know a game-changer when I see one. I didn’t particularly enjoy Mutant on my first listen (or Arca’s first record, for that matter), but it started to make more sense on its second and third play throughs. And I understand some of the hype, which means it might work for you. If wildly unpredictable, dark, and slightly unsettling electronic music is your thing, you should give it a shot.