DEATH GRIPS

NO LOVE DEEP WEB

by ANDREW GARSETTI

Bombast in the music scene is a double-edged sword. If used appropriately (read: Kanye West), arrogance feeds into an image; an unrelenting abrasiveness can create a character so absurd that we view it as fiction. An entitled and confrontational persona, on the other hand (read: Alice Glass), generates an unnecessary disconnect between fan and musician, and the music ends up suffering because of it.

If Death Grips know one thing, it’s confrontation. The collective burst on the scene in April 2011 with its release of the cacophonous Exmilitary, a mixtape that forged a demonic mixture of hip-hop, punk, and industrial music. The album began with a deranged vocal recording of Charles Manson, and lyrical topics ranged from “blowing anthrax off of palms” to using hypothetical subatomic particles as a drug. Rapper MC Ride played the role of a schizophrenic vagrant in front of the bristly production of Andy Morin and supercharged drums of Zach Hill. Exmilitary satiated needs that listeners didn’t even know they had, and it quietly ended up on a number of year-end lists.

The mixtape’s success won them a signing with the major label Epic Records, and this past April they released The Money Store. It was a more focused and refined effort—the music drew increasingly from original material, and MC Ride dug even deeper into the pit of heathendom for some of the crudest lyrics this side of Odd Future. It was a true accomplishment, and will undoubtedly be many people’s favorite album of the year.

Around the time of The Money Store’s release, Death Grips announced that would put out a second LP by the end of the year, though they were hazy on the details. On October 1 the band pulled its biggest stunt yet, releasing the album—titled NO LOVE DEEP WEB—online for free. Evidently, Epic Records wanted to push the project’s release date to 2013 for commerical reasons, but the trio went behind their back and posted it on a number of filesharing websites. They claimed that upon its release, both Epic and the fans would be hearing the album for the first time. As an extra middle finger to the label, Death Grips decided that the best choice for the album’s artwork would be an unmarketable photo of an erect penis inscribed—in Sharpie—with the album’s title.

NO LOVE DEEP WEB begins with the anthemic “Come Up and Get Me.” Bullish synths stutter belligerently until 808 drums and an unhinged MC Ride join the mix. There’s no sense of rhythm between the backing beat and MC Ride’s bark of a flow, but it works within the song’s context, making him sound more psychotic than ever. It’s a bombastic introduction that serves as the band’s mantra and an introductory statement of MC Ride’s evolving antagonist character.

Without a doubt, NO LOVE separates itself from its two predecessors because of the spotlight placed on MC Ride. Though Morin and Hill create densely pounding soundscapes that would bully plenty of other emcees off the beat, the two take a backseat here much more often than ever before. “Stockton” is prime example—808 bass drums and snares tap back and forth, an occasional machine whir interjects throughout, but MC Ride’s ridiculous “whoop”-laden hook is the only thing worth focusing on.

Death Grips’ biggest strength is to create infectious hooks out of their rough aesthetic. The Money Store did it well, and NO LOVE follows suit a number of times. “Lil Boy,” “Whammy,” and “No Love” are all inherently grating, but their hooks somehow sneak into the head and refuse to leave. It’s essential that they do, because NO LOVE’s biggest weakness is the impression of monotony from Hill and Morin’s production, compared to their last two efforts.

“Artificial Death in the West” is the best track on here, and it’s an easy contender for song of the year. Morin brings in the most melodic production of the album—two krautrock chords that ring back and forth while Hill’s electronic drum kit tightly cuts through the repetitive drones. MC Ride rambles about being watched, and everything fuses to make one of the best musical conveyances of paranoia I’ve ever heard.

Death Grips may quickly be turning into the 5th grade bully who puts tacks on the teacher’s desk simply for attention—they’ve recently posted an email exchange between Epic and themselves about the album’s controversial release, and the label dropped them because of it. Nevertheless, as long as they make engrossing music and don’t kill anybody doing it, they’re one of the most interesting acts to keep an eye on today. NO LOVE DEEP WEB is the logical step forward for Death Grips, a band that should be on everyone’s radar as we head into 2013.<

ANDREW GARSETTI

His peers disagree as to the affability of his countenance, and he strongly dislikes vegetable juices.