THE HYPE IS OVER. Yes, that’s right. Last night, Death Grips independently released their third studio album, Government Plates. After a year of controversy and being booted from their label due to the leaking of their second album, No Love Deep Web. Since then, the Grips have started their own label, called Third Worlds, and are digitally releasing their music for free. Looks like the Grips have figured out how to undermine the corruption that is the music industry.
In my opinion, Government Plates shows Death Grips at their creative apex. The noise/hip-hop trio are by far one of the most creative forces this decade. The soft spoken frontman, Stefan “MC Ride” Burnett, unexpectedly screams raspy verses over the noisy electronics produced by drummer Zach Hill and producer/keyboardist Andy “Flatlander” Morin. These guys are of course an acquired taste, but their creativity cannot be diminished. Kanye West even cited the Grips as heavy influence for his newest album, Yeezus.
The album opens with the quick hitting song probably titled by Fall Out Boy, “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.” The album goes on with Flatlander and Hill’s production being shown off more than ever. From the shout samples in “Two Heavens” to MC Ride’s voice being vocoded on their first single, “Birds.” MC Ride is present in the songs, but the lyrics seem to be unimportant. Most songs are only 3-4 lines long. This album shows off the creative team of Flatlander and Hill on production.
With Government Plates being their magnum opus, Death Grips are an upcoming force to be reckoned with. With the release of their own label, they pose a massive threat to the corporate music industry. Death Grips prove that one doesn’t need to succumb to corporate labels to be successful in music.
Songs to Check Out: Birds, Two Heavens, This Is Violence Now
Laura Stevenson was born into a musical family. Her grandfather was a composer whose resumé includes “Little Drummer Boy” and “Do You Hear What I Hear?” while her grandmother was a singer for Benny Goodman. Needless to say, these musical genes have been passed down to Laura.
Laura Stevenson began her musical career as the keyboard player for Jeff Rosenstock’s punk/ska/whatever the hell they were musical collective, Bomb The Music Industry! While touring/recording with BTMI!, Stevenson grabbed a guitar and began writing songs with a few other BMTI members. Thus, Laura Stevenson and the Cans were formed. The Cans released two records before Stevenson did her own thing and released a solo album.
“Wheel” is Stevenson’s first solo release. It was released under Don Giovanni Records, which also released another killer record this year but we’ll get to that later. “Wheel” is a very, very refreshing folk, singer/songwriter album with songs about middle class love. She sings about “mak[ing] you happy” by “making you coffee when [she] wake[s] up in the morning.” Her unique vocal timbre along with her finger-plucked guitar melodies make this album a nice, relaxing folk album.
This is probably my album of the year. I highly recommend giving this album a listen. I was hooked after hearing the first song.
Chiodos has apparently been trying out a new tune on their current run across the pond with Vans Warped Tour Europe. While it’s always next to impossible to get a real grasp of how the final version will sound, it certainly doesn’t appear to lack in sonic power. New guitarist Thomas Erak’s fingerprints are all over this one, and thew new album should be an interesting listen.
On October 31, I traveled to Rochester to take in a show on Emery’s current tour celebrating the 10 year anniversary of their seminal album, The Weak’s End. This was not just a straightforward rock show, however. For this tour, Emery put together one of the most unique concert experiences I’ve had the pleasure of taking in live. The structure of the show was this: the guys from Emery would take the stage and do a short question and answer session with the crowd, punctuating each set of questions with an acoustic performance of songs from their catalogue. After playing 2 songs, Toby would introduce the supporting band that would follow them on stage. The supporting band would do their acoustic set and then the process started all over. After all the openers had played, Emery would take the stage to play The Weak’s End front-to-back without stopping to say a word between songs. Below you can find video I took of Emery (with founding member Devin Shelton back in the fold) performing The Ponytail Parades acoustic.
First up on the stage was a band by the name of Peace Mercutio. Peace Mercutio is a power pop/rock band almost in the vein of Four Year Strong from Seattle, and a group with which i was unfamiliar with prior to the night. I am certainly familiar with them after that performance. The 3 current members of the band (Vocalist/Guitarist Andy Lundman, vocalist/guitarist Dan Buckley, and drummer Taylor Jurgens) were an absolute blast to watch. When not performing acoustically, Jurgens usually does not provide any vocals whatsoever, but his monster harmonies and guitar work added to the performance in a big way. Below is a video taken by a girl who was standing immediately to my right of their song “Credit Cards,” which may have been my favorite performance of the evening.
Next up on stage was the band This Wild Life, who also put on a very enjoyable show. I hadn’t listened to these guys before the show, but Kevin Jordan and Anthony Del Grosso were both very engaging and positive forces on stage, and the audience definitely matched that energy.
The final opener was Matt MacDonald, best known for his work as the frontman for the Seattle rockers The Classic Crime. Matt was performing songs from The Classic Crime’s substantial catalogue by himself, utilizing a looping pedal to layer sounds and riffs to create a full, dynamic sound from a single guitar. For my money, Matt is one of the best vocalists in the scene, with power and range to spare. Below you can find video I took of Matt performing “The Precipice” from TCC’s 2012 album, Phoenix.
Of course after this, the acoustic guitars went away and Emery took the stage to perform The Weak’s End. I’ve been to a lot of shows, but I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a crowd go from “laid back acoustic show” to “hot, sweaty, in-your-face hardcore show” before, let alone in less than 15 minutes time. The venue, The Bug Jar, is essentially a bar with a small stage, not a music venue that also happens to have a bar. I would say that the entire stage area was in a roughly 20′ x 40′ rectangle, and that contributed to an intense atmosphere, with the 200+ patrons piled one on top of the other. Emery may be senior members in the post-hardcore scene, but they haven’t lost an ounce of passion or ability. Honestly, keys/programmer Josh Head and guitarist Matt Carter’s unclean vocals have actually improved since The Weak’s End and frontman Toby Morrell has become a much stronger clean vocalist over the years. Packed though they were, the crowd was fully along for the ride; pushing, jumping, clapping, and screaming every single word at the top of their lungs. Being front and center, completely surrounded by that level of passion and positivity is always an incredible experience, and the Rochester crowd brought it hard. By the time Emery’s set was over and the last note of the encore, “Studying Politics” faded, I was drenched in sweat (most of it not even my own), short of breath, and with a significant ringing in my ears that has only now disappeared. A great night with great musicians making great music. Not much else I can ask for.
Ryan and Jon Do Music 