Death Grips - The Money Store (2012)
How's 'bout that "Exmilitary" eh?! Occasional guitar riffs, crazy hobo screamin', and some LOUD NOISE! Well, say "FUCK YOU" to the guitar riffs because they ain't nowhere to be found on this album, but to contrast the raw hip-hop/punk sound of "Exmilitary", this album is very electronic-based. The album, instrumentally, almost serves as a soundtrack to how people back in the 1960s probably imagined music in 2000 to sound like, with its "Can't replicate this on your REAL INSTRUMENTS, dad!!" nature, as they watched the Jetsons and couldn't wait for flying cars, but it's AWESOME and the drums are still real, so that's some good shit!!
OH YEAH AND THE ENTIRE ALBUM IS GOOD SHIT!! Holy shitting fuck! This album is NOT a repeat of "Exmilitary" by any means other than that it was made by the same lovable trio of deep-web browsing sassy lads. Whereas "Exmilitary" was punishing, heavy, and inaccessible, "The Money Store" is punishing, heavy, and still inaccessible but CATCHY. You read that right: Cat Chy. At the time of release, I couldn't believe how great some of the songs on here are, and by that, I mean I actually found the first Death Grips song that I genuinely liked ("Hustle Bones") and was astounded by that alone. I mean, with "Guillotine" and a few of the other noisier cuts from "Exmilitary", I was (at the time) about to throw away any effort to actually check this band out anymore because "this is just noise" but I'm glad as shit that I, for some reason, clicked to check out the "Hustle Bones" video when it came out.
I genuinely don't know where to even start with this album. Every song on here is an attack on your taste in music, is abrasive and loud, and really shouldn't work, but it's done in such an infectiously catchy manner that you can't help but love "Hustle Bones", "I've Seen Footage", and "Hacker" for their unique charm that only Death Grips can bring to the table. In the first song, "Get Got", in which MC Ride immediately lays a major tongue-twister on you of "Get get get get got got got got. Blood rush to my head bit hot lock. Poppin' off the fuckin' block knot. Clockin' wrist slit watch bent thought bot." leading into a crazy technological beat, the album starts out by quickly getting the message across of "Yes, this is our music, and yes, you are probably going to be confused by it." which serves as a friendly warning about everything else the album is going to throw at you, and whether or not you'll be able to catch it. Fortunately for me, nowadays I'm a better catcher than [insert joke about homosexual male celebrity] I used to be, as such, I guess I tend to like most of the musical shit that happens in my headphones when I double-click the MP3s.
What you have happening here is what happens when the spirit of hardcore punk music and modern-day technology meet with brutal drumming, so it's sort of like George Michael in that regard, but fuck George Michael because he has a first name for a last name. This music, at times, such as in "Lost Boys" sounds like the perfect soundtrack for a dystopian future, where you're running on top of trains to escape from a special police force working for "the man" that's really just a brain in a robot, and other times, it serves as a reminder of just how unnatural of music we can make with technology, such as the female vocals being chopped up to hell for the chorus of "Hustle Bones" and the pounding sounds of "System Blower", but one thing is consistent about this album: Quality.
The album just never lets up from its audible barrage, not willing to back down from its battle with your speakers, but that being said, there's not a weak moment to be found on this album. There's not a single song on here I think "Eh.." and skip. Each has its time and place in the grand scale of everything, and serves its purpose with no issue. It's actually pretty astounding how genius this album is at times, combining the clean and serene with the mean and obscene, but I can let it play beginning to end, even multiple times in one listening session and not have a problem with it. It is, by all means, a love-child of "what the hell is this shit?" and "holy shit, this is great" in a way that no other artists, even artists directly inspired by this band, will ever be able to replicate in a way to give it the proper justice and respect that it deserves, as a truly experimental and mysterious hip-hop album that holds no punches back from the listener.
It might not be the 10/10 perfect album that DEATHony GRIPtano said it was, as he ate his Death Grips cereal out of his limited edition Death Grips cereal bowl with Death Grips 2% milk, but damn, for an album called "The Money Store", it sure sold me on the band.
8/10
________________________________________________________
Feel free to check out the song previews/buy this album using my Amazon Associate link!
