New Sounds: Death Grips

Nobody split the opinion of music fans and critics from all sectors of the blogosphere straight down the middle last year quite like Death Grips did. A seemingly bizarre collaboration between MC Ride and drummer Zach Hill of Hella fame amongst others, their brutal, abrasive and experimental mish mash of hip hop, electronica, rock and metal proved to be the most marmite- like concoction of the year. Nobody seemed to be unsure of what they thought of the band's debut free mixtape "Exmilitary"; people either loved it or hated it.

... Apart from me. I listened to the record. I revisited it time and time and time again. Sometimes I would listen to it and love it... Sometimes I would hate it. It's probably the only record that I've ever listened to compulsively for two weeks and not been able to make my mind up about it. But after hearing this new track from Death Grips, I'm pretty confident that when their next free mixtape, "The Money Store", comes out on April 24th, I'll have a much more permanent opinion on the group.

"Get Got", the first song to appear online for the aforementioned upcoming album, sees a slightly different, if not just as experimental and out- there side to Death Grips. Gone are the raw, overly aggressive and brutally delivered yells of MC Ride, and they are replaced by a down- tuned, low and slurring baritone that seems smoother and more moderate. The high voltage nature of the MC's delivery on the debut is substituted for something that may be more palitable for people who both loved and hated the debut. As for the beat, it's just as bizarre as before, and sounds almost sample based, as was much of their debut. In terms of it's quality though, it's brilliant. It contains hyperactive bleepery and a pounding beat, and has a rather accessible melody, unlike the vast majority of their debut.

Whether you were a fan of "Exmilitary" or not, this is worth checking out. Fans of that record will almost certainly be excited by it, and people who hated the debut will probably find it much more likeable than their previous experience with the group. I for one cannot wait to hear "The Money Store" off of the back of the strength of this song.

Grab a free download of "Get Got" from Soundcloud linked below:
http://soundcloud.com/deathgrips/death-grips-get-got