The second head of Jackie Cohen’s two-part Siamese twin Tacoma Night Terror EP set, the gloriously-titled Self-Fulfilling Elegy, at once declares itself the cocky counter-peak to the previous release’s valley of gloomy, anxiety-fueled observations. It opens with the big, Hunky Dory strut of “Make U Sick,” all hutzpah and hot-head swagger and hopped-up disregard for proper spelling. But it’s only the high before the low.
By the time we land on torch song “It’s Rainin’ Again,” the moxie has burned off and Cohen’s once again bedridden and reaching for the mirtazapine. The whistles and moans of mental health across this set of songs are bold and often hilariously garlanded. In the brilliant closing song, “I Hate My Body,” Cohen turns her body dysmorphia and pathological clenching (“My eyes feel like chestnuts on a fire/My back is all busted up/My BPM’s way up/My shit is aching”) into a big, dazzling Rockette’s Spectacular high-kicking finale that alone is worth the price of admission.
