Music

death grip drops their latest ‘government plates’ overnight. turn it up! #soundcheck

November 15, 2013

A solid half the appeal of being a Death Grips fan is following them down their rabbit hole of “we do whatever the fuck we want!” (They even have a song about it… “Whatever I Want (Fuck who’s watching)”) The specific genius of MC Ride, Flatlander and Zach Hill is their ability to make what might otherwise be totally self-indulgent compelling. Also their music. That’s pretty genius too. Because really, we wouldn’t be here if they weren’t making music half as good as their latest, Government Plates.

By Nathan Leigh, AFROPUNK Contributor

FREE DOWNLOAD HERE

Appearing without warning overnight (and on my birthday, no less!) their latest record adds more touches of electronic melody into the mix. MC Ride’s apocalyptic verses still terrorize the instrumentals, but he’s found some range between screaming for his life and not singing. Subtlety may not be what most folks look for in a Death Grips record, but their secret has always been the deceptive amount of depth that goes into their tracks. This time around, they seem to take inspiration from some of Aphex Twin’s quieter tracks, especially on the title track.

Fractured beats and verses keep the same sense of deliberate disorientation that makes Death Grips so exciting, but the majority of the tracks trade Death Grips hyper-aggression for hyper-dense atmosphere. But they still find room for a few brain-melting bangers like the preposterously named opener “You might think he loves you for your money but I know what he really loves you for it’s your brand new leopard skin pillbox hat.” I don’t think anyone’s likely to call their new record “tame.” But sometimes you need to get quiet for a second for the loud shit to feel LOUD. And thankfully, Government Plates gets loud.

As usual, the record is available for free download.

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