Fashion Week by Death Grips
Posted in 2015, January, Q1 on January 5th, 2015 by Devin R Dougherty
Album: Fashion Week
Artist: Death Grips
Release Date: January 4, 2015
Label: Third Worlds
Genre: Industrial/Instrumental Hip-hop
I’m one of those people who stops doing things once they do those things for a short while, which is why this website hasn’t been updated in over a year. I guess I share this in common with Death Grips, who decided to break up last year simply because they made music, got popular, and got bored. However, due to the unconventional and aggressive nature of the band, being broken up doesn’t seem to really mean anything. Fashion Week is a surprise instrumental “soundtrack” album that the band just released for free on their website. I’m not going to complain about a new Death Grips album ever, but their volatility can be tiresome after a while. Regardless, it’s an album and it shall be reviewed.
Fashion Week is a collection of instrumental tracks recorded without any input from MC Ride. Despite the good idea and the total viability of instrumental music, this album has a few tracks that sound like they just should have had vocals in them. This seems more like a vocal-less version of an album than an instrumental main event. The songs never really develop either, they either go on way too long or they’re really great for the two minutes they exist. The main problem with this album is that some of it is just boring. Tracks like “Runway Y” and “Runway A” don’t really go anywhere and aren’t all that interesting to begin with.
All that being said, the album is not a bad one. It works better if you think of it as a compilation of tracks as opposed to a cohesive album. Some tracks just attack you and engage you right until their end. “Runway H” (both of them!) are fantastic tracks. The second featuring a fitting guitar. That track in particular doesn’t even really feel like a Death Grips song, but it’ll slide.
I’m afraid there’s not much more to write about this album. It’s good, but it’s not stellar. It’s not even really an album. Think of this is as a mini-review for the new year.
Great Tracks: “Runway E (I),” “Runway N (I),” “Runway H (I & II),” “Runway W”
Not so great Tracks: “Runway Y,” “Runway A”
FINAL RATING: 7/10
