Both musically and lyrically, The Powers That B thrives on insanity. With these two discs: the experimental Bjork laden Niggas on The Moon; and the direct and massive sounding Jenny Death; Death Grips succeeds in creating a chaotic atmosphere with two totally different techniques.
Aside from Death Grips being Death Grips with their fan-aggravating antics, there is a definite reason why the two parts of this album were not released at once – they seem too disconnected to actually be realized as a cohesive whole. Other than the insanity that is to be expected from Death Grips at this point, the only point where the two seem to interlay is on Pss-Pss’s reference to Have a Sad Cum. The two ideas seem disjointed, but whether that is a problem or not depends on if Death Grips intended this be a full-fledged album or actually just a compilation.
This sense of disconnect does not stop the individual songs from being fun though. The Powers That B keeps the body moving throughout, although it does make it obvious how it's going to do it. While the upfront tracks on Jenny Death like “I Break Mirrors With My Face In The United States” and “Why a Bitch Gotta Lie” are tracks that would not be out of place with a crowd going insane at a live show, Pss-Pss’s distorted groove sees Death Grips making what sounds like a broken dance song. Even Niggas On the Moon more quirky experimentation can inspire feelings of pure energy at times, as is the case in Black Quarterback’s Bjork laced hard hitting beat coupled with Ride’s classic screamed vocals. On that same coin, the changing and off-kilter time signatures of “Say Hey Kid” and “Voila” act as variety to the energy.
These two ideas were not meant to be merely straight balls of insanity, however. Beneath the rough exterior hides themes of social critique and introspection. Behind Inanimate Sensation’s sheer weight from its revving synths and live-sounding drums is actually a message about technology’s ability to engross individuals to the point where they search for that inanimate sensation – the intensity of which is the music itself. And behind the scattered synths and the rushed vocals of “*** Me Out”, shows the how the picture of sexual experience today is physically intense, but ultimately devoid of meaning, which is frantically searched for. Have a Sad Cum and PSS PSS distort the picture even more.
The last two tracks of Jenny Death contain a very important theme however – suicide. With ON GP, the theme is shown with the drained feel that the synths and the distorted guitar riff evokes, and with direct reference to Stefan himself in the song, and his notable absence from Death Grips 2.0, it may suggest Stefan’s departure from the group.
Whatever the case may be, The Powers That B may not show a group at their most coherent, but there are enough well executed musical and thematical ideas executed here to make this worth a listen. If not because it just sounds fun.
