*New Music* Death Grips - Black Paint
"Track 3 from Year of the Snitch
http://thirdworlds.net"
Black Paint is the second track so far released in promotion of Death Grips' upcoming 'Year of the Snitch' record. On the surface, Black Paint contrasts sharply with the previously released Streaky, making the two seem like an odd promotional pairing; the latter features subversively playful synth lines and humorously ambiguous lyrics, while the former is a pounding, somewhat anthemic diatribe. While Streaky leans more towards the Death Grips' Hip-hop influences*, Black Paint sways towards their darker, guitar-driven, metal-influenced form. Black Paint somewhat maintains the lyrical ambiguity of Streaky, but it comes across as more straightforward than a majority of Death Grips' ambiguity-drenched lyrics.
Black paint sounds like it would fit in perfectly on 2015's 'Jenny Death,' the second half of the Double LP 'The Powers that b.' Being the third track on 'Snitch,' it's interesting to note the similarities it shares with Turned Off, the third track on Jenny Death; Both songs are perpetually forced forward by Zach Hill's manic snares and ringing crash cymbals, tonally draped in Nick Reinhart's deep, distorted guitar riffs, and powerfully accented with Stefan Burnett's snarling vocal "booms," as well as Andy Morin's synth-produced, grimy sonic weirdness. Careful attention is paid to structure in both tracks - each featuring multiple tempo shifts and key changes, creatively imposing a frame around the central musical and lyrical ideas of the respective tracks.
Black Paint's chorus: "i require privacy // i’m always thinking finally // dreaming / feigning" is reminiscent of Zach Hill/Andy Morin spinoff band The i.l.y's.
Year of the Snitch is rumored to be released sometime in the next month or two, but who knows when, or if, the release date is announced by the band. Death Grips do have a history of dropping albums without warning, as well as mysteriously taunting fans awaiting upcoming releases.
*At first listen, Streaky instantly reminded me of an interesting blend of Death Grips' early style (2011's excellent ExMilitary mixtape) and their most recent studio album (2016's equally great Bottomless Pit). The record scratching and crisp hi-hats call back to a sound that the Death Grips' seemed to have fazed out of their ouvre, while the balanced and subtly complex production and contrast-highlighting structure reveal a clear path of progression in the previous two years of writing and recording new material. Streaky's frantic, jumping synth melody is noticeably similar to Bottomless Pit's 'Eh.'