It’s hard to separate Jenny Death from the hype it’s been receiving for the last year. 2014 saw the release of Niggas on the Moon, ostensibly the first half of the album The Powers that B, so what’s most striking at first is how different Jenny Death sounds to the downright pretty Bjork samples and complex electronic beats of Niggas on the Moon. Instead Jenny Death greets you with shrieking synths, Zach Hill’s live drums and eclectic samples reminiscent of Exmillitary (think of the Jane’s Addiction sample from ‘Beware’).
But to say that Death Grips are returning to an earlier sound would be a mistake, as half the album signals a new direction into somewhere between rap and rock. Jenny Death is the harshest, most overpowering Death Grips album to date, about one step away from the power-electronics of Whitehouse on some tracks, with other tracks sounding more like Zach Hill’s solo albums, albeit with better production and the usual Death Grips chaos. That said, it doesn’t break as much new ground as Niggas on the Moon, instead it’s a well-polished amalgamation of all Death Grips albums thus far with some abrasive guitars added to keep it interesting.
Words by Hayden Dalziel