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The Tufts Daily
Where you read it first | Thursday, March 28, 2024

Death Grips thrills with 'Jenny Death'

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Death Grips deliver to fans on what could possibly be their last production.

Reverb is a weekly collaborative music review within the Arts section that explores new albums and covers new artists, whether indie or mainstream. Our goal is to explore and examine everything that modern music has to offer and to educate anyone who cares.

“Jenny Death,” which dropped on March 31, is the second disc of “The Powers That B” (2015), Death Grips’ latest release and possibly the last album of the band’s tumultuous run. Or maybe it won’t be their last, as the group is unpredictable to the point where fans have to expect nothing and be happy with anything. Earlier this year, the group, made up primarily of lead singer MC Ride and drummer/producer Zach Hill, announced their disbandment on their Facebook page via pen and napkin: “We are now at our best and so Death Grips is over. We have officially stopped. All currently scheduled live dates are canceled. Our upcoming double album ‘The Powers That B’ will still be delivered worldwide later this year via Harvest/Third World Records. Death Grips was and always has been a conceptual art exhibition anchored by sound and vision. Above and beyond a ‘band.’ To our truest fans, please stay legend.”

In early January 2015, Death Grips released a free instrumental soundtrack titled “Fashion Week,” a surprise release following their supposed disbandment. On the album, each track’s first letter covertly combined to spell out “JENNY DEATH WHEN.” “Fashion Week” was wild and scattered, even by Death Grips’ standards. The band looked to be on a predictable decline, especially after the similarly unsuccessful first disc of the two-part album “The Powers that B,” (2014 – 2015), which was titled “N**gas on the Moon” (2014). Again, according to the napkin, the “conceptual art exhibition anchored by sound and vision” seemed dry on new ideas to push their music forward. If they were to go out on top, the group had yet to really show it. “Government Plates” (2013) was their latest work that could be considered “strong,” and expecting Death Grips to reach that level of output again seemed like a hefty proposition.

However, if “Jenny Death” truly is Death Grips’ final stamp on the musical world, the group is definitely leaving on a high note. On the second disc of “The Powers That B,” they are able to push their sonic boundaries without sacrificing the qualities that made them so successful in the first place. The album starts with a bang, or, rather, a banger; “I Break Mirrors with My Face in the United States,” the album’s opening track, alludes to lead singer MC Ride’s ugliness, as well as the brutish quality of Death Grips’ sound. It’s a fresh, mirror-shattering intro to “Jenny Death.” The group’s music has always been hard to stomach on first listen, but like many ugly mediums, there’s hidden beauty underneath the surface.  The song is infused with energy and seemingly futuristic production, and MC Ride yells the title over the surrounding noise until he’s hoarse. The song sounds like a hyper, futuristic version of a “Government Plates” (2013) song.

Meanwhile, the first single off “Jenny Death,” entitled “Inanimate Sensation”(released December 2014), follows “I Break Mirrors with my Face in the United States,” continuing the musical high which Death Grips has created. The second track has a more shrill, off-putting beat that builds steam and speed like a racecar. The careful composition of the song breaks down shortly afterward, as the track devolves into a whirlpool of distorted vocals and wild sounds before crescendoing again. “I’m so northern California, I call scratch ‘bammer’ / pure overhander / live show on a banner / Axl Rose in a blender / Slash on Satan’s fender” MC Ride yells. With their lyrics, the Sacramento-based group display their propensity to do whatever they want and rhyme whatever they please. The method makes little sense, but it fits their jarring music and aggressive, independent outlook to great effect.

“On GP” is perhaps the most elegant song Death Grips has released, despite the group’s trademark aggression and devil-may-care attitude. As the album’s penultimate track, it continues the rock-infused theme of “Jenny Death,” which itself is largely new territory for the band, as the band recruited guitarists to shred catchy riffs to accompany Zach Hill’s rhythmic drumming. The second single released off “Jenny Death,” “On GP” is an antidote to Death Grips’ abrasive sound, as listeners hear Death Grips in a state of sadness, followed by rejuvenation. MC Ride stands toe-to-toe against the song’s most aggressive moments, transforming his rapping into the album’s least hostile sections by dialing back his belligerent yelling. Here, Death Grips has given listeners a musical elixir, as melancholy meets antagonism to form new beauty. Following “On GP” is “Death Grips 2.0,” the final track on “Jenny Death,” revving the tempo back up to typical Death Grips-levels as a (final?) curtain call.

“Jenny Death” is not perfect. The album gets tiring at times, especially toward the middle (one can only hear MC Ride say “Pss Pss” so many times in one sitting). But “Jenny Death” drives the point home, often right down the esophagi of listeners, that Death Grips’ sound can still be fresh and deserving of appraisal. “Jenny Death” is dialed back when it needs to be, with well-structured songs and enough twists and turns to keep listeners guessing, and enough head-bobbing beats to keep them from leaving.

Summary The album is dialed back when it needs to be, and its songs are structured like any other successful Death Grips album, with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, and enough head-bobbing beats to keep you from leaving.
4 Stars