Death Grips - The Powers That B (Album Review)

 

Death Grips - The Powers That B

(2015)

My copy: 2015 press by Harvest and Third Worlds.

The Powers That B was one of the most heavily anticipated experimental hip-hop releases during its mysterious promotional stage following 2013’s Government Plates. Being a double album, the first half of The Powers That B was made available in 2014 to generate hype while the other half would take nearly a full extra year to release officially, causing pandemonium across the internet along the way. Both halves of the record boast unique identities that are tied to specific recording philosophies, with the first half (N****s On The Moon) being far more interesting conceptually. I’ll tackle both individual albums as their own entities.

N****s On The Moon released to mass excitement, as Death Grips were arguably at the peak of their mainstream popularity thanks to an influx of attention given to their first three full-lengths thanks to internet reviews. The album itself is daunting and jittery, far more frantic and leftfield than their most popular work to date - this is also largely thanks to the main recording motif being chopped and screwed samples of Icelandic singer Bjork that would trigger via sample pads on Zach Hill’s drum kit. “Up My Sleeves” is potentially MC Ride’s most emotionally poignant track ever, as repeated mantras are shattered by heavy drums and ethereal Bjork samples. Ride’s rapping is aggressive but pained, lyrics deal with illness, death and generally more serious topics. The music switches from head-banging marches to fast-paced glitching. Everything flows smoothly on N****s On The Moon, with each track seamlessly gliding into the next. 

“Billy Not Really” uses the Bjork samples to generate addicting pulses of cathartic yet uncanny vocal rhythms over electronic dance beats. Ride’s flow is at its smoothest on N****s On The Moon as well, opposing the much more visceral styles found on Jenny Death. “Billy Not Really” also features impressive hooks and cascading percussive hits broken up by sampled primitive flutes - only for the song to bend and rework into a blood-pumping verse, finally falling into another dimension as bouncy beats and samples send it careening into the honking instrumentals of “Black Quarterback.” Not only are the lyrics more interesting on N****s On The Moon, but the delivery is much catchier, being tied nicely into the repetitive vocal samples that bend and waver over the album. “Say Hey Kid” might be their most appealing anthem, with hypnotic tempo shifts and rising bursts of energy. Ride may be unconventional in his flow, with generally indecipherable lyrics, but he is a mastermind of mood, with a presence that utterly controls the room. 

Things get weird as we dip into the chaotic and laughably titled “Have A Sad Cum BB” which is shockingly compelling thanks to Hill’s highlighted drum fills. “Fuck Me Out” is indeed the lowpoint of this half, though its unsettling ambiance is commendable. The uneven percussion on “Voila” is enrapturing, and Ride’s performance perfectly maintains the unease painted by the sampled vocal “Oh”s and crazed rhythms - it’s perhaps the best track here, for its alien production and sound, and especially for its harrowing noise-freakout sections. Closer “Big Dipper” is the ultimate combination of everything the album does right: masterful use of repetition and dynamics, euphoric sampling techniques, and crazed moments of psychosis. The album stumbles apart into a slow burnout of Bjork samples, leading into the long awaited Jenny Death. 

Where N****s On The Moon used samples and digital effects to create a cold, precise, and often claustrophobic series of interconnected tracks, Jenny Death instead opens up with more analog sources including electric guitar and more outwardly aggressive rapping. With this seemingly converse style making up the second half of The Powers That B, the group also unshackles their song structures into longer, more psych-infused jam sessions. “I Break Mirrors With My Face In The United States” embraces repetition similar to “Up My Sleeves” but to far less of an impact - the composition is more frenetic and layered with electronic sounds, but falls short of the earlier opening. The almost childish vocal performance on “Inanimate Sensation” is annoying until the idea is fully realized with ascending synths that mimic Ride’s strange vocal “Eh”-ing. The rising pitch gets the adrenaline pumping for the in-your-face verse sections. The track is more complex but overstays its welcome. 

Guitar rings into delay on “Turned Off” where punk is filtered through dense hip-hop and seamless tempo changes. The space-age skits and robot voices on “Why A Bitch Gotta Lie” keeps things uneasy as they continue to bounce from futuristic digital sounds to punk explosions. The nauseous synth melodies on “Pss Pss” work well with the song’s traditional hooks and simpler beats. The title track for the entire collection is home to some excellent mid-tempo guitar density as well as one of Ride’s most comical lines yet (“My favorite color is oh my God, bitch!”). Psych-guitar riffing sets “Beyond Alive” apart initially before coo-ing synths and crazy cymbals attempt to hijack the mood - the guitar remains integral however, delivering sharp scales before the drums launch a counter-attack with primitive beats. 

“Centuries Of Damn” feels like a less dynamic precursor to the impressive “On GP” which commits fully to noisy punk and cool, airy psych passages. “On GP” also features the best vocal performance on this half of the record with some instantly iconic lines. “Death Grips 2.0” isn’t featured on the vinyl edition, but is an instrumental electronic preview of their shift in tone with Bottomless Pit. Jenny Death doesn’t fully live up to its hype though it does have some spectacular highs (mainly “On GP”). Jenny Death’s lack of consistent vision and more freeform approach ultimately make it less appealing than N****s On The Moon, which feels like a near perfect execution of its concept. 

Overall, The Powers That B is an impressive and lengthy piece that chronicles a departure from their more stylistically consistent albums. From here out, Death Grips branch out into strange genre combinations as well as new production techniques, proving that they are not an idle band. Even though their ambition sometimes fails to impress, The Powers That B is proof that Death Grips seek to innovate above all else, and by far the better reflection of this is within N****s On The Moon.