If news of their split, back in July – announced via napkin – seemed a little sudden, perhaps it was because that wasn’t quite the end for Sacramento noise group Death Grips.
Despite having declared the group’s demise last summer, they remerged on 4 January with Stefan Burnett, Zach Hill and Andy Morin posting a new album on Soundcloud entitled Fashion Week. Described by the band as a “soundtrack”, its 14 songs are a series of industrial instrumental tracks, each of which is affixed with a letter of the alphabet which spells out the words Jenny Death When.
These letters are in reference to the second half of the group’s forthcoming double album, entitled Jenny Death. The first half of The Powers That B split record came in the form of an eight-track collection called Niggas on the Moon, which nonchalantly featured the heavily cut and sampled vocals of Björk on all eight tracks.
While this album came as a surprise to many, Death Grips fans are long used to following the trio’s idiosyncratic career: after signing to the major label Epic in 2012, they were dropped for releasing their album No Love Deep Web for free online, months before the scheduled release. They also announced their split ahead of a Nine Inch Nails tour slot, stating: “We are now at our best.”
The Powers That B will be released via Harvest records on 10 February. Listen to Fashion Week below, and let us know what you think.
