The universality of music can mean different things to different people. For Albertine Sarges - Berlin-based musician and producer - it's a vessel that she uses for self-exploration and growth, never more so than on her 2021 album 'The Sticky Fingers'. After numerous collaborative projects, including with Colin Self and Holly Herndon, and performing as part of Italian synth-wave duo Itaca, Albertine brought together a band, the titular Sticky Fingers, for this LP. The Sticky Fingers has it's roots in the south of the German capital - Albertine grew up in Kreuzberg during the fall of the Berlin Wall and records in nearby Neukölln - but from there it's branches shoot out to take in feminist theory, musings on bisexuality, gender stereotypes, depression and mental health. These topics fall under the ever-shifting veneer of Albertine's chameleonic pop motifs: from Viv Albertine-inspired post-punk and kaleidoscopic dream-pop to quiet-loud guitar squall and Merrill Garbus-reminiscent vocal acrobatics.