Death Grips. A name that has truly taken the internet by storm. This experimental hip-hop trio has released new music every year since forming in 2010, whether in EP or LP form, and they live for controversy. When told by Epic Records that they couldn’t release their second LP, NO LOVE DEEP WEB, they not only put it up for free the next day, they made this the cover of the LP. That doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what this group has done over the years. Between 2012 and 2014, they would constantly cancel tour dates, even going as far as to saying they broke up just before a tour where they were opening for Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden.
Controversy is not the only thing that has kept this trio going, though. Their sound is truly unlike any other. Of course, hip-hop that dabbles in industrial and noise is nothing new, but it’s how these three minds approach it with passion, anger, and ambition that makes it special, each project doing something exciting the others do not. In their eighth year as a project, they have unleashed Year of the Snitch. This is easily one of my most anticipated listens of the year thanks to a note-perfect promotional campaign that made it feel as if this LP was slowly creeping up on us. First there was the trailer; then came the song drops every week until big release day finally arrived on June 22nd. I only listened to the first three of these singles, more than enough to get me psyched. In 37 minutes, Death Grips manages to showcase all their forward-thinking madness at once. Each of these tracks pumps with the same energy we’ve come to expect of the Death Grips brand while taking advantage of a different influence. Flatlander, who always provides a quality product, really went out of his way to give this project the best possible production: “Death Grips is Online” has a paranoid, jumpy air that keeps the track sounding uniquely, and almost bizarrely, positive; later cut “Shitshow” is borderline cybergrind. Death Grips has dipped their toes into punk before (see the first two tracks off of their previous effort Bottomless Pit), but this is easily the most abrasive they have ever been. Flatlander’s influence makes sure it punches as hard as possible. Then we have “Dilemma,” featuring Shrek director Andrew Adamson and an instrumental blatantly influenced by ’70s progressive rock. If it wasn’t clear, Death Grips is going places they never dreamed before. They’ve been thinking forward since day one, and still have new tricks up their sleeves all these years later, informed by that same deadpan sense of humor that informed so much of The Money Store and the hoopla around NO LOVE DEEP WEB - the instrumental interlude is hilariously titled “Outro,” and its almost cartoonishly cyberpunk, reminiscent of the music for Batman Beyond. Somehow, it really, really works. Despite the tracks all being relatively different from each other, Year of the Snitch remains coherent in that way only Death Grips seem to manage. One of the best transitions on this entire LP is between “Flies” and “Black Paint.” The former track is some of the most experimental music on the record and is just short of abrasive. Conversely, “Black Paint” is one of the record’s angriest tracks, yet the outro of “Flies” perfectly connects the two. There’s also a nice transition between the instrumental “The Horn Section,” which sounds like you’re about to play a few hours of Tekken, whereas “Hahaha” is exactly what you expect from its title: absolutely kooky. In typical Death Grips fashion, the percussion is pretty much entirely electronic. Sometimes they go faster than hell (“Shitshow”), only to see them keep it mellow on the very next track, “Streaky,” the first single released for this LP. They play a similar role on “Linda’s in Custody,” giving a much more relaxing feeling on an LP that is otherwise completely out there in production and lyrics. Then crank the heat up on “Little Richard” and “The Fear.” It’s a back-and-forth Zach has come to master over the years; he knows instinctively when and where to go crazy and when to take a backseat, demonstrating a rare finesse in a group that often strives to sound as off-the-cuff as possible. Take the voice of Death Grips, and for many, it’s selling point: MC Ride. Year of the Snitch contains arguably his best and most varied vocal performance yet, and considering their back catalogue, that is saying something. Tracks like “Black Paint” and “Shitshow” feature his typical vocal mannerisms, which essentially consist of him yelling in your face, but “Flies” and “Streaky” feature cleaner vocals, which are just odd and unsettling after so many years spent establishing his primary style. Exacerbating the odd and unsettling tone he chooses for Year of the Snitch, “Flies” is literally about being devoured by the vomit of flies (“Should the opportunity arise, vomit me flies”), and O have a strong feeling that “Streaky,” with lyrics like “Booty on the outside,” is about anal prolapse. It’s good to know that Death Grips still rides the edge of decency with their lyrical content. The LP concludes with “Disappointed,” which is probably my favorite Death Grips closer since NO LOVE DEEP WEB’s “Artificial Death in the West.” Lyrically, it sees Death Grips once again taking a jab at their fanbase, mocking them for not being able to understand the direction the group wants to go; they know how polarizing their inter-album mood swings can be, so they made sure this remained the listener’s last impression of Year of the Snitch. The instrumental is expectedly stellar here as well, bringing the main ethos of Year of the Snitch together; it’s almost home to what I think might be Ride’s best vocal performance yet. There’s not much that can top “Why me?” repeated throughout the track, each round more intense than the last. VERDICT: Year of the Snitch shows us Death Grips at their most Death Grips, making music for themselves and no one else. If they weren’t before, Death Grips are now most assuredly online.
- Alex Brown
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