Meaningless Noise

The past couple posts on this blog have centered on rap/hip-hop groups, but this week, I’m going to change things up.  While noiserap and experimental hip-hop are great examples of experimental music, they are just a couple of many genres that exemplify the type.  This week, I’d like to take a look at post-punk.

Regular punk rock was, for a while, very experimental.  The monotonal shouting over short, staccato guitar riffs mixed with deep, driving basslines that comprised punk were a very edgy interpretation of typical rock conventions.  Post-punk is an even more experimental expression of these trends.  Where punk rock strives for loudness, abrasiveness, and a very raw, unprocessed sound, post-punk mixes these standards with a tendency toward a more processed, atmospheric sound.  Just as post rock, as represented bands like Sigur Ros, takes the conventional tools of rock (guitars, drums, bass, etc.) and mixes them with orchestral elements and synthesizers, post-punk takes the typical toolset of punk and expands it to include a variety of instruments that allow bands to craft extremely atmospheric and thematic soundscapes.  These soundscapes tend toward a darker, more unsettling mood, meaning that post-punk, compared to typical punk, is fairly dark, sometimes even to the extent that it mimics trends in heavy metal.

A perfect contemporary example of post-punk is the work of Protomartyr.  The Detroit-based band, composed of four members, has delivered a suite of albums beginning in 2012.  Since the release of Under Color of Official Right (2015), the band’s second album, the group has maintained an uncommonly consistent sound.  At a time when bands consistently reinvent themselves and change their sound from album to album, Protomartyr keeps up a solid identity, mixing alt-rock with the elements of post-punk mentioned above and twisting it all through an occult lens to deliver an extremely unique and unsettling experience.

Under Color of Official Right is, much like the band itself, an extremely consistent album.   All of the songs are enjoyable, but very few deviate from an established pattern, meaning that few really stand out.  “Scum, Rise!” has interesting moments of tension that are a good example of the darker tone that Protomartyr tends to set.  “Come & See” has a very alt-rock-sounding chord progression that is a good example of the band blending its multiple genre influences and sounds, at points, very anthemic.

The follow-up effort to Official Right, The Agent Intellect (2015), really sees Protomartyr embrace the alt-rock influences that shine through on “Come & See” from their previous release.  “The Devil in His Youth” opens the album with another alt-rock-style chord progression and serves as a prime example of their typically occult lyricism.  “Pontiac 87” is one of the band’s best songs, and it moves away from the darkness toward a more contemplative, almost nostalgic tone.  “Ellen” and “Feast of Stephen” are stylistic echoes of this song, interspersing the album with moments of deeper thought amid periods of uncomfortable tension, best represented by the asymmetrical drum beat of “Why Does it Shake?”

Protomartyr’s most recent album, Relatives In Descent (2017), sees the band develop a more cohesively thematic, almost story-like album structure in order to deliver a contemplation on human behavior through the lens of the occult.  Lyrics are echoed between songs and consistently deal with strange/weird experiences and dwell on their deeper meanings.  “A Private Understanding” opens the album with another unique drumbeat, not unlike that of “Why Does it Shake?,” setting a tone of discomfort and tension.  “My Children” begins with a slow, atmospheric soundscape that accelerates into a driving, punky jam with undeniable momentum.  The defining track of the album, however, is “Half Sister,” which sees Protomartyr cast off all pretensions of sanity and embrace a total cynicism which is reflected in lyrics that contemplate alternate outcomes of biblical events and more contemporary instances of occultism.  The writing in this song is a real treat, and is really worth delving into (the first line is the title of this post).

As I said, the sound and style of Protomartyr vary drastically from those of BROCKHAMPTON and Death Grips, but that doesn’t mean that they are any less worthy of your attention.

BROCKHAMPTON: the best boyband in the world.  That is what the group’s 13 members like to call themselves, anyways.  Based in California but founded in San Marcos, Texas, BROCKHAMPTON is a hip-hop/art collective composed most notably of Kevin Abstract, Merlyn Wood, Dom McLennon, Bearface, and Matt Champion.  The group released its first album, All-American Trash in 2016 to a positive critical and public reception.

Following this initial success, BROCKHAMPTON endeavored to release an entire trilogy of albums in a single year, 2017.  SATURATION, SATURATION II, and SATURATION III all saw receptions similar to that for All-American Trash: positive both publicly and among critics.

Most recently, the group has released three singles, “1997 DIANA,” “1998 TRUMAN,” and “1999 WILDFIRE,” and an album, iridescence that make up the strongest work that the group has done so far.

Compared to the subject of last week’s post, Death Grips, the music of BROCKHAMPTON is relatively conventional.  But, as can probably be gleaned from the size of the group, the band is quite unconventional in ways beyond their sound.  Because of this, I would not necessarily categorize their musical work as experimental, but all of the effort surrounding it certainly fits the bill.

Some of the 13 members are rappers, others are producers.  Typical for a rap group.  What is not typical are the directors, photographers, and graphic designers that round out the rest of the group.  These members are what make BROCKHAMPTON truly unique.

Ever since its founding, BROCKHAMPTON has been more than just a band that makes music.  It is an effort to create a multi-media brand.  The covers to their albums are works of art, their music videos are creatively shot and directed, and their live shows are a sight to behold.  The band is strong on every single front, from a media perspective.

They have gone so far as to brand themselves “America’s Boyband.”  Honestly, in terms of representation, they are the most accurate operating distillation of America into a boyband group.  Rather than just four or five straight white guys, BROCKHAMPTON is a multiracial collaborative that is proudly queer.  A number of their songs address race, which is nothing groundbreaking in terms of rap, but many others also bravely address the struggles of homosexuality.

Recently, the band has seen some controversy.  One of the members, Ameer Vann, was accused of mental, verbal, and sexual abuse by a number of women earlier this year.  BROCKHAMPTON eventually removed Vann from the lineup after handling the situation somewhat inelegantly and canceled a number of tour dates in the fallout.  Despite this, as I said before, the group continues to produce strong work, with recent efforts being their best.

Their most recent album, iridescence, actually only dropped last Friday, the 21st, and is the beginning of a new THE BEST DAYS OF OUR LIVES trilogy of albums.  Despite the recent challenges the group has faced, they have truly bounced back and are a band to watch.  Their next two offerings will undoubtedly be worth checking out, if not for their musical virtues, then for all of the videos, art, and performances that accompany it.

“This is just a joke, right?”

“Dude, tell me this is just a meme.”

“Do you actually enjoy this?”

The typical initial reaction to Death Grips includes disbelief, shock, and sometimes horror.  Comprised of MC Ride (Stefan Burnett), Zach Hill, and Flatlander (Andy Morin), the Sacramento-based trio rarely fails to illicit an extreme response from new listeners.   Since the beginning of the project, though, the group has redefined experimental hip-hop and secured a cult following that touts them as musical revolutionaries.

Their initial effort, the mixtape Exmilitary (2011), has obvious hip-hop roots, but bucks many modern rap and hip-hop conventions.  MC Ride’s flow, while definitely rap, is boisterous and wrathful.  He barks more than spits bars.  Hill’s drumming is hefty and drives the music in a way that no drum machine could.  Morin’s production sounds industrial and raw, a result of combining a number of random sounds recorded on iPhones.  “Beware,” the haunting opening that begins with an excerpt from an interview with Charles Manson, and “Takyon,” the definitive banger of the tape, are the highlights of Exmilitary.  Fans of typical hip hop and other conventional music genres are honestly best starting their exposure to Death Grips here.  All that follows is far more experimental.

Death Grips first full-length album release, The Money Store (2012), saw the band really come into its own.  Whatever hip hop conventions still shackled the group on Exmilitary have been entirely shrugged off on this effort.  Nothing speaks better to the sheer quality and impact of this album better than the fact that it was the ultimate inspiration for Kanye West’s Yeezus (2013).  The album has no true highlights; listeners should experience the work in its entirety in sequence.  However, the group’s most accessible track to date, “I’ve Seen Footage,” saw release on this album.

No Love, Deep Web (2012) is more of the same.  Solid, unapologetic, and masterfully produced, the album managed to draw a fans that few would ever suspect might enjoy hardcore noiserap.  William Shatner quoted one of the two title tracks, “No Love,” on Twitter.  The albums definite highlight, “Lock Your Doors,” is one of the bands best.  It evokes the paranoia and crazed nature that define the band’s persona as MC Ride shouts over a loud, expansive track.

Government Plates (2014) might be one of the weaker offerings from the group, but “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’s opening track, was featured in an Adidas advertisement, and “Two Heavens,” a diamond in the rough of this album, is one of the best lyrical works by the group to date.

Death Grips releases beyond this point simply continue to build on their solid foundation of innovation, never sounding the same and always adding new elements to their repertoire.  Rather than walk readers through these dense and sometimes opaque albums, an appreciation for which can only come after developing an appreciation for Death Grips’s earlier works, I will stop here.

This is a group that demands patience and repeated listens, but rewards devoted listeners with aural experiences unlike anything else.  The aforementioned highlights are a solid starting point for prospective fans, but even those songs may seem wholly inaccessible, possibly even offensive to the ears.  I encourage readers to give them all a chance, then another chance, then another.  Then a few more.  Because once this music clicks, nothing else can even compare.

Listening to new music can be hard.

Until recently, anytime I heard someone say, “Pass the AUX, you gotta check this out,” or, “Lemme see your phone, I wanna queue some new songs,” part of me cringed and I prepped myself for a potential assault on the eardrums.  If I was the one currently in control of the music, I’d scramble.  Do I pretend to lose the AUX cord?  Do I pretend my phone is about to die?  Nobody likes giving up the role of DJ.  Everyone who claims to enjoy music has specific preferences.  I was no exception.  Like most people who listen to music, I enjoyed specific genres, specific artists within those genres, specific albums by those artists, and specific songs on those albums.  And honestly, it was just easiest and best if I never had to listen to anything but that with which I was already comfortable and familiar.

To accumulate a comfortable and familiar library of songs from specific albums by specific artists that belong to specific genres in the first place, though, one needs to have listened to those songs for the first time at some point, and at that point those songs were totally new and unfamiliar.

So, unless one aims to become that crotchety old grandma that only ever listens to Simon and Garfunkel while rocking back and forth in a chair on her porch or that lame old dad that only ever listens to Pink Floyd while cracking open a beer and sitting on the hood of the sports car he purchased to make himself feel younger, everyone needs to listen to music for the sake of adding variety to their usual lineup.

It’s easy to try music by familiar artists.  It’s easy to try music from familiar genres.  These are, in many cases, acceptable ways to expand one’s library.  But, as said, these are not inherently challenging methods.  It is more of a challenge to dabble in new and unfamiliar genres.

The jump from pop to rock , and vice versa, can be jarring.  A jump from oldies to trap or rap has the potential to be even more unsettling.  I know, from experience, how difficult it can be to grow an appreciation for a genre outside of those to which one is accustomed.  In any of these cases, though, the listener moves from one established/recognizable genre to another.  Most rock fans, despite its perceived basic nature, would acknowledge pop as music.  Metalheads and punk rockers, despite their perceived slowness and quietude, still recognize orchestral symphonies as music.

I want to extend an invitation to jump even further, to a less well-established realm, one with fewer boundaries and limitless potential: experimental music.  Because of its nature, this variety of music eludes simple and concise definition and can rarely be constrained to just one, or even two or three, genres.  Oftentimes it is written off as little more than incoherent noise.  Rather than waste screen space attempting to describe it when it speaks best for itself, though, I would simply like to prepare readers for what is to come.  Each future post on this blog will explore some element of experimental music: an artist, an album, perhaps even just a single song.  I encourage readers to find and listen to that which I discuss, all the while keeping an open mind.  In essence, this blog will be a guide through attempting to grow an appreciation for experimental music.

For those wanting a taste of experimental music or wishing to prepare for my next post, which will feature the band Death Grips, I would recommend their song “I’ve Seen Footage.”