So this isn’t officially an album. Its half an album that
has been deliberately leaked - disc 1 of what will be a double album from
experimental hip hop group, Death Grips.
There’s not much I can say about this group other than that
they’re fucking out there, constantly pushing musical boundaries, doing things that
no other musician has tried before. My review of their last album Government Plates should be more
insightful.
This new half-album-thingy is entitled ‘N****s on the moon’
and will be disc 1 of Death Grips’ upcoming album ‘the powers that b’. This is different
to anything death grips have ever done before for a variety of reasons:
- It has Bjork on it. Bjork is all over this CD. Her vocals are literally on every track.
- MC Ride doesn’t seem to be as angry – he’s not screaming as much on this album as on previous releases
- The instrumentals are less consistent, less clean, less predictable. They’re constantly changing in rhythm and tempo and they seem busier overall
- Why am I numbering this list?
First time I listened to this, I wasn’t sure whether I liked
it. I’m still not sure if I like it or not and so there won’t be a star rating
at the end of this review (it’s only half the album anyway and I’ll give it a
proper review once the whole thing drops).
Off the bat, I really
liked the glitchy Bjork vocals. They give off a unique sound I’ve never heard
before. I also like the fact that MC Ride shouts less, as his lyrics are
clearer as a result. Romantically named tracks ‘Have a sad cum’ and ‘Fuck me
out’ get more sexual than anything Death Grips have previously released, which is interesting. What
I’m finding hard to get into is the ever-changing rhythms and busy instrumentals.
There’s a sense of groove and cohesion that’s missing – something that really
hooked me to Death Grips in the beginning with tracks like ‘Takyon’ and ‘Guillotine’. Indeed,
this messiness does help to create that disorientating, ‘noided’ feel that
Death Grips are all about – but it also makes the whole thing less infectious
and less catchy than previous releases.
Saying that, the more and more I listen to the album, the
more and more I like it (I’ve only listened to it three times through so there’s
still room for growth).
Check out ‘N****s on the moon’ down below, if you haven’t
already. Leave a comment, tell me what you thought about this semi-record-thingymajig
and have a nice day :)