Government Plates
Death Grips
The messy split with Epic Records, at the time, seemed like the beginning of the end for Death Grips. But in reality, exiting their contract was an insignificant price to pay for artistic freedom. No Love Deep Web, would go on to be another 'W' as far as fans and critics were concerned. MC Ride and Zach Hill went on tour to support both 2012 albums and speaking for myself, that show was unreal. The band would then go on to partner with Harvest Records (a subsidiary of Capital Records) and Caroline Records to launch their own imprint Third Worlds, a deal that would allow the band to once again have widespread distribution while maintaining their creative control. With all the shake-up in the band's trajectory, they still didn't miss a beat; maintaining their prolific streak with another new record just thirteen months, thirteen days, and thirteen hours after No Love Deep Web.
With everything that was going on behind the scenes, it's entirely possible that attentions were divided when it came to producing this record as this is Death Grips' oddest and most disjointed album in their whole discography. The transitions between tracks are often pretty jarring, the progression of these songs are pretty similar in that they typically comprise two or three seemingly incongruous sections that cycle, and most notably, Ride's presence is somewhat diminished. He still provides a handful of legitimate verses on a few songs, but on the others his contributions feel more like samples. Upon release, I think it was easy to be a little more critical of the record given its properties listed above. However, for me personally, the past ten years have allowed me to really embrace the sound play and Hill's inventive (as always) beats. I've also grown to appreciate the mix of pounding industrial, accelerated, rave EDM sounds, and the volatility, the carelessness with which the ideas are smashed together.
Government Plates puts its best foot forward with the first two tracks being some of the most memorable songs in the band's catalogue. You Might Think He Loves You for Your Money but I Know What He Really Loves You for It's Your Brand New Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat already puts you on edge with breaking glass, piercing electronics, ghoulish shrieks, and one of Ride's most frenzied performances. This track also has fat walls, of grinding, distorted bass that sound really nice, especially when Hill's natural cymbal hits cut in the mix upon their entrance. The aggressive streak continues with Anne Bonny. Ride's performances are scathing, especially when coming into that second verse. Ride generates massive shockwaves into the instrumental, hence all the rumbling energy the track possesses. Things cool off a little with Two Heavens, but its eerie and mysterious instrumentation don't let you put your guard down. I particularly love this track for Hill's busy kick drum pattern and the glassy bells that echo from every corner of the stereo field.
Not long after, we get Birds which handily has to be the band's weirdest song. Its built around this heavily manipulated guitar riff that is credited to Robert Pattinson. It's chopped in a rather clumsy way, giving it this awkward rhythm, and Hill's drumming is similarly sloppy (or at least edited as such) in order to lock in with it. The riff itself is quite angular and timid, the latter being a quality that is not typically associated with Death Grips in the slightest. Ride's stream-of-conscious verses are incredibly esoteric; spitting remedial lines like "I got a black cat, it might live, it's got a black hat, it goes big." The thing is though, everything is wrong to the point that it feels right. I find myself quite locked into and entranced by the song's cohesive absurdity.
Beyond this point, the tracks tend to be more instrumental in nature, but for me, there are still some significant highlights. I love the repurposing of Unwound's Mellotron from We Invent You on Feels Like a Wheel as well as the collage of different punchy percussion, Middle Eastern, and climbing chipmunk vocal samples. I also love the sounds on Big House. The accelerated bubbling synths that kick off this track are really exhilarating, and I love the way it crashes into this very cavernous, mostly percussive section. The last highlight for me is Bootleg (Don't Need Your Help) which alternates between sections that sound like a pumped up Xerox meticulously scanning documents and a more peaceful, yet digitally imperfect soundscape.
In many ways, Government Plates feels more akin to a mixtape than an album, and perhaps that could have attributed to the album's initial lukewarm reception. In my opinion though, I think this record is just as high-quality as everything else they've produced. It still has its ear-worm hooks, its unique, and its still a very engaging, blood-pumping listen.
8.7
Standouts: You Might Think He Loves You for Your Money but I Know What He Really Loves You for It's Your Brand New Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat, Anne Bonny, Two Heavens, Birds, Feels Like a Wheel, Big House
Experimental Hip-Hop, EDM (2013) Third Worlds/Harvest. Reviewed November 10th, 2023
