After the incredible success of tUnE-yArDs’ 2011 masterpiece, w h o k i l l -- a critical darling that earned the No. 1 spot on the Village Voice’s annual Pazz and Jop poll -- it was hard to imagine where Merril Garbus would go next. Turns out, Garbus, the powerful voice and mastermind of the one-woman-band-turned actual band, wasn’t sure, either. For a musician and producer as inventive with sound and wordplay as she is, Garbus says she’s always had at least some music she was workshopping or planning to record. But after some time off, there was little left on the shelf, and in order to restock, she realized she had to challenge herself.

To watch Garbus play on stage -- as she constructs each drum hit into a danceable polyrhythmic groove and each vocal line into textured harmony with the help of live looping pedals -- is to catch a glimpse of what it’s probably like when she writes new material. But this time, she wanted to stretch beyond that by going into the studio five days a week and trying to craft two demos a day.

“I also had rules,” she explains in the press release. “‘This week I’m only going to write using drum machines’; ‘This week I’m going to write using vocal melodies first, and build something around that.’ At the end of that, I had about 30 demos.”

Those demos eventually became the backbone of tUnE-yArDs’ superb third album, Nikki Nack. The album features work from producers John Hill (Rihanna, M.I.A.) and Malay (Frank Ocean, Alicia Keys, Big Boi) and is set to drop on May 6.

Today, we get our first full taste of the album, with the song "Water Fountain."

Members of the Soundcheck team woke up with the new song in their inboxes, and have these first impressions.

This has all the earmarks of Merrill Garbus’s work -- the funky, Afropop rhythms; the steadily building layers of sound; the surprising breaks that seem to spin out of control only to lead directly back into the song. And above all, a sense of fun. Its minimalist beginning had me thinking of The Tom Tom Club (Merrill’s repeated “Woo-Ha”s reminded me of this Talking Heads-spinoff-band’s “Wordy Rappinghood”), and the whole thing has a decidedly more “pop” sound than most of her past work. As the song goes along, she adds more textures, until by the end it feels like you should be waking the kids to bop along. (John Schaefer)

It’s difficult to see how a live bill split by tUnE-yArDs and Arcade Fire would work. The latter band has become so occupied with image and message management that even their “loose” moments on Reflektor like “Flashbulb Eyes” are engineered for levity. There’s no doubting the mind-boggling intricateness in Merrill’s productions, but at least the result here is all bubbling bass and laugh-out-loud lines about the legal tender status of "blood-soaked dollars." Nonetheless, Merrill will be opening for Arcade Fire this spring -- and the even more joy-allergic The National -- over the summer. I for one would like to see what a collaboration between Merrill and Busta Rhymes would sound like. There’s more in common there than a few woo-ha’s. (Dan O'Donnell)

tUnE-yArDs' w h o k i l l was my favorite album of 2011. And if this track is an indication of what’s to come on Nicki Nack, I think I’m going to like this one a lot too. The moment at 27 seconds when the first harmonies and the bass line kick in is awesome. I love how her songs build and layer on loops without seeming repetitive. tUnE-yArDs albums seem custom-built for summer (the last one was released in April; this one will come out in May), and I’m looking forward to listening to this album while I’m outside, not wearing a parka. (Katie Bishop)

“Water Fountain” is, no question, another no holds barred tUnE-yArDs song. Propelled by a rubbery bass groove from Nate Brenner and her clacking, room-shaking polyrhythms, the song demonstrates a new sonic density found all throughout Nikki Nack-- check out those bit-crunched digital artifacts and incredible percussives skittering around the headphones. tUnE-yArDs’ music is undeniably fun, buoyant, and even more explosive in concert. But more, Merrill Garbus is one of the most inspiring figures in music right now -- with an ability to craft songs equally full of joy and anger. And as she sings about global inequality, gender politics, and economic and cultural struggles in her distinctively unrestrained voice, songs like this carry extra power. As always, Garbus is an adventurous musician, a playful frontwoman and a can’t-take-your-eyes-off-her force of nature. But this music feels completely of this moment and beyond. There’s no doubt in my mind that this record will be among the year’s best. (Michael Katzif)