Review Summary: Heavy, mean and wildly entrancing, The Money Store is a lively and energetic debut studio album from the experimental hip-hop group that fans will love.
Three piece experimental hip-hop group, Death Grips, own the soundtrack to a six hour operation. A six hour troubling operation way far in the future where robots are the surgeons and we humans are the comatized patients. They own it.
A year after releasing their battling debut mixtape, Exmilitary, Death Grips greet their comatized patients once again with their debut studio album, The Money Store. 2011 saw the group stand out from other hip-hop artists with their hard-hitting beats and heated synthetics, not forgetting the taunting and cohesive vocals of Stefan Burnett (MC Ride). This time round the group create a slicker and well more progressive album that both the group and electronic/hip-hop fans will enjoy.
Exmilitary contained hints of originality and potential. The Money Store sure picks up on that and makes use of it. The quickened and electric vocals on first track 'Get Got' seem rushed during first listen but end up being a solid example of Death Grips energetic and original flavor. MC Ride's lyrics cook and charm the bouncy and up-tempo synthetics with gripping hooks and verses.
“Lycanthropic manic cycles
Fire water burnin’ bibles
Wake up ragin’ call a taxi
Take me to the nearest city
Cell light up yeah get at me make it quick though blood im busy.”
As an instrumental, the track itself seems somewhat impossible to overlay with vocals, but the group take the challenge steadily and embrace it. It works insanely well.
The same happens with the album's single 'The Fever (Aye Aye)'. Zach Hill's allusive drumming ram back and forth against the heavy alarm sounding synth. Halting to a stop, the drums have a rest while the intoxicating main hook drives by. The liviness of instruments bounce from incredible extremes to interesting and strange system overloads. 'Blackjack' incorporates cutting drums and continuous bass driven synths while over this MC Ride's reverse hinted vocals increase the level of insanity. The progressive and sharp production in 'The Cage' is hard pumping and head banging; the startling synths punch against the thundering beats. Club-bangers such as tom drum infused 'Punk Weight' and 'Hacker' take the album from good to great. 'Hacker' is without a doubt the album's best song and perhaps the group's best song. The hook is down right catchy and crazy good while the classic techno beats and samples shine ahead of other tracks.
Death Grips greet their fans with a new proficient and giving hand which will undoubtly introduce their sound to many incoming newcomers. Although few tracks aren't as satisying and delivering as others, The Money Store is one alarming fever; An enthusiatic, experimental and diverse fever with the potential of branching more great albums to come forth from the group.
