Album Review: Death Grips - The Money Store

Californian experimental hip hoppers Death Grips came out of nowhere to slay everyone with their brutal Exmilitary mixtape of last year. The combination of industrial mash-ups, atonally aggressive chants spat with antagonistic fury and anarchic rhythms was relentless in its originality, its fire and its fecundity. That is, anathema to the major labels. And yet we have seen a shift in gambles – it started with Sub Pop taking on Seattle weirdos Shabazz Palaces, and now Epic Records have stepped up to embrace Death Grips. The union has tempered the aggression little, yet the incessant noise and clatter on The Money Store isn't as impressive the second time around.

MC Ride's raspy rants are still at the forefront of these jams, yet it's the more experimental melodic fare that proves to be most interesting. The swirling staccato dynamics of Hustle Bones and Double Helix make them instantly magnetic. To see perennial shit-stirrer and all-round wildman Zach Hill dipping in for production duties makes these sonic aberrations more relatable when tied to his warped musical world.

However, these tracks are linked by songs without as clear a focus; or even worse, are abrasive without a clear purpose at all. This is The Money Store's downfall, as the brilliant tracks on offer such as the scattershot annihilation of Hacker are offset by slips in motivation. Death Grips are promising a second album by year's end. If they combine Hill's wizardry with the nihilistic destruction of Exmilitary and the groove inherent in parts of this album, they will deserve the plaudits many have hastily pushed onto them.