Review Summary: goddammit
Death Grips can go f
uck themselves.
Fantano said it best, "No other band has trolled its audience harder than Death Grips." The pattern of behavior that this band has followed post-breakup, while certainly a somewhat logical followup to their behavior pre-breakup, has been cryptic, to say the least. But now, we have an out-of-the-blue project on our hands whose titles literally spell out "J-E-N-N-Y D-E-A-T-H W-H-E-N".
Seriously?
But what's probably most surprising here is that this project is not only of a higher quality than
niggas on the moon, but that it's their best and most consistent release in the past few years. Without MC Ride's at-times meme-a-day vocal deliveries, the music is able to fully take its hold, and retains its glitchy and batsh
it qualities we've all come to expect from Death Grips. "Runway E" and "Runway H(1)" in particular are as heavy and abrasive as we've seen these guys get, complete with noisy distortion and an immense wall of bass.
Fashion Week, however, does not base itself around these huge bangers, but rather taking a step back and producing tracks that do not necessarily push limits so much as bring out a more pop-influenced side in themselves. Of course, Death Grips is still Death Grips, and these tracks are likely too abrasive for a casual listener to fully enjoy. That said, there are spots on
Fashion Week that are simply damn
catchy, without having to rely on MC Ride. "Runway H(2)" in particular features a somewhat uncharacteristic guitar sample that is gorgeous in its context, and "Runway N(1)" features very little noise within its production. The absence of MC Ride's violent and occasionally absurd deliveries helps immensely in bringing this characteristic out.
As annoying and ridiculous as the wait for Death Grips' new planned release is,
Fashion Week does its likely-intended job of further increasing the hype for it, and it does the job by simply being really damn good. Damn you, Death Grips.
