Maybe dälek and Food for Animals are ancillaries. If not, there’s not a tremendous amount of music that Death Grips can be linked to. The occasionally hip-hop, always experimental trio from Sacramento, in part, gained notoriety as a result of Hella’s Zach Hill sitting in on drums. And while the percussionist’s renown was a boon for business, his previous work has almost nothing to do with what’s going on here. Fronted by Stefan “MC Ride” Burnett, a guy who sounds like a gruffer ODB raised on punk groups, Death Grips revels in a grim and desolate universe. Its first album, “Exmilitary,” dons a rather grizzled-looking black gentleman on its cover, and makes use of what sounds like a Greg Ginn guitar sample on “Klink,” before dissolving into a snippet of “Nuggets”-era psych. That sort of wide-ranging aural pastiche persists and includes a bit of Pink Floyd’s first line-up on “I Want it, I Need it.” The release’s digital success landed Death Grips on Epic. And while that arrangement didn’t last too long, the ordeal yielded another digital album release, ostensibly issued to rub the label’s nose in it all. But what probably brought the trio its widest acclaim was last year’s “No Love Deep Web.” While still musically remarkable, the album cover is a close-up of some anonymous dick with the record’s name scribbled in marker along the shaft and head. A lesser group’s music would have become totally obscured amid the fervor. And while that dick still looms large, the album further develops Death Grips obtuse view of genre. Occasionally stripped down, there’s still enough odd production and taut drumming from Hill to make the effort rank as an outsider favorite. (Dave Cantor)
August 2 at Bottom Lounge, 1375 West Lake, (312)666-6775. 10pm. $18. Also August 3 at Lollapalooza, 7:15pm, The Grove Stage. Sold out.
Cooling It: A Preview of Colleen Green at Cole’s Bar When Green strums power chords or chiming notes on top of her backing track, you might think you’re at Ramones karaoke night and Madonna is taking her turn.
Brutal Finesse: A Preview of King Crimson at Ravinia There have been few new compositions from King Crimson these past two decades, but the live arrangements of songs from its catalog are often strikingly different than the recorded versions.
Maybe dälek and Food for Animals are ancillaries. If not, there’s not a tremendous amount of music that Death Grips can be linked to. The occasionally hip-hop, always experimental trio from Sacramento, in part, gained notoriety as a result of Hella’s Zach Hill sitting in on drums. And while the percussionist’s renown was a boon for business, his previous work has almost nothing to do with what’s going on here. Fronted by Stefan “MC Ride” Burnett, a guy who sounds like a gruffer ODB raised on punk groups, Death Grips revels in a grim and desolate universe. Its first album, “Exmilitary,” dons a rather grizzled-looking black gentleman on its cover, and makes use of what sounds like a Greg Ginn guitar sample on “Klink,” before dissolving into a snippet of “Nuggets”-era psych. That sort of wide-ranging aural pastiche persists and includes a bit of Pink Floyd’s first line-up on “I Want it, I Need it.” The release’s digital success landed Death Grips on Epic. And while that arrangement didn’t last too long, the ordeal yielded another digital album release, ostensibly issued to rub the label’s nose in it all. But what probably brought the trio its widest acclaim was last year’s “No Love Deep Web.” While still musically remarkable, the album cover is a close-up of some anonymous dick with the record’s name scribbled in marker along the shaft and head. A lesser group’s music would have become totally obscured amid the fervor. And while that dick still looms large, the album further develops Death Grips obtuse view of genre. Occasionally stripped down, there’s still enough odd production and taut drumming from Hill to make the effort rank as an outsider favorite. (Dave Cantor)
