Year of the Snitch

Year of the Snitch is the sixth studio album by experimental hip hop group Death Grips, released on June 22, 2018, through Third Worlds and Harvest Records.

Year of the Snitch
Studio album by
Death Grips
ReleasedJune 22, 2018
Recorded2017–2018
StudioSunset Sound Recorders[1]
Genre
Length37:13
Label
ProducerZach Hill, Andy Morin (co)
Death Grips chronology
Steroids (Crouching Tiger Hidden Gabber Megamix)
(2017)		 Year of the Snitch
(2018)		 Gmail and the Restraining Orders
(2019)
Death Grips studio album chronology
Bottomless Pit
(2016)		 Year of the Snitch
(2018)
Singles from Year of the Snitch
  1. "Streaky"
    Released: May 5, 2018
  2. "Black Paint"
    Released: May 15, 2018
  3. "Flies"
    Released: May 22, 2018
  4. "Hahaha"
    Released: June 7, 2018
  5. "Dilemma"
    Released: June 15, 2018
  6. "Shitshow"
    Released: June 17, 2018

Background

With the release of Steroids (Crouching Tiger Hidden Gabber Megamix), Death Grips announced they were "working on the new Death Grips album".[5] The band has made apparent via social media that they had been working with ambitious collaborators for the creation of the project throughout the promotion of the album, including in-studio collaborations with Australian experimental musician Lucas Abela, New Zealand film director Andrew Adamson and Justin Chancellor, bassist for the progressive rock band Tool.[6][7][8]

The band posted a black and white image of text reading "Year of the Snitch - new album coming soon..." on their official webpage on March 22, 2018. Death Grips shared the album artwork for Year of the Snitch on April 6, 2018.[9][10] The band's imprint label Third Worlds' website was also updated with this information.[11][12][13]

The tracklist for the album was released on April 11, through a video posted to social media and the band's YouTube channel. The video consisted of the track names being sent via SMS to the user of an iPhone through a screen recorder, while short videos played in the foreground. Accompanying the differing ringtones, screamed vocals of the band's frontman MC Ride can be heard, coming from the album's last track, "Disappointed".[14]

Death Grips uploaded a music video for the track "Streaky" on their YouTube channel on May 5, 2018, as the album's first single,[15] followed by the track "Black Paint" on May 15,[16] and the music video for the third album single, "Flies", on May 22.[17]

The band posted a short video to Instagram on May 23, featuring DJ Swamp performing on a turntable in a recording studio, with the caption stating that "the majority of Year of the Snitch features [him]".[18]

The fourth single, "Hahaha", was uploaded by the band to their YouTube page on June 7.[19] That same day, the album's release date was announced as June 22.[20] A music video for the track "Dilemma" featuring Andrew Adamson was uploaded on the Death Grips YouTube channel on June 15.[21] A sixth single, "Shitshow", was uploaded to YouTube two days later.[22] Three days later, on June 20, the official video for "Shitshow" was released. It was directed by Zach Hill and Galen Pehrson.

Interpretations

The band has been notorious for their invocation of infamous cult-leader Charles Manson, stemming from their sampling of his voice in their debut EP "Exmilitary". Prior to the album's release, the title "Year of the Snitch" was speculated to be a reference to the 69th birthday of Manson Family member-turned-key witness Linda Kasbian.[23] This theory was eventually confirmed upon the album's release date on June 22, only one day after her birthday. She is also referenced directly in the fourth track "Linda's in Custody", which alludes to her role in the Tate-LeBianca murders.

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.3/10[24]
Metacritic69/100[25]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[26]
Highsnobiety4.0/5[27]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[28]
MusicOMH[29]
Pitchfork7.3/10[30]
PopMatters7/10[31]
Rolling Stone[2]

Year of the Snitch received generally favorable reviews from critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 69 out of 100, based on 8 reviews.[25] In his review for AllMusic, Rob Wacey claimed that "Not one of their releases is the same as another, and with Year of the Snitch, they continue to break boundaries and expectations. The record is another example of true experimentation with their sound along with an uncompromising work ethic and a thirst for originality."[26] Writing for The Line of Best Fit, Steven Loftin called the band "one of the more exciting bands currently active" and described the album as "pushing every boundary around them".[28] Ian Cohen of Pitchfork called the album "explosive" and "fun as hell", but "lacking in a clear target to give it meaning".[30]

Christopher R. Weingarten of Rolling Stone named the song "Black Paint" as his 2018 pick for the magazine's "song of the summer" series.[32]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Zach Hill and Stefan Burnett except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Death Grips Is Online"Morin, Hill, Burnett3:32
2."Flies" 2:33
3."Black Paint" 3:49
4."Linda's in Custody" 3:30
5."The Horn Section"Hill1:32
6."Hahaha" 3:35
7."Shitshow" 1:45
8."Streaky" 2:56
9."Dilemma"Morin, Hill, Burnett3:54
10."Little Richard"Hill2:25
11."The Fear"Morin, Hill, Burnett3:21
12."Outro"Hill1:02
13."Disappointed" 3:21
Total length:37:15

Notes

  • "Hahaha" was spelled "Ha Ha Ha" in early publications before the single's release.[33]

Personnel
  • MC Ride – vocals, lyrics
  • Zach Hill – drums, production, vocals on "Little Richard", lyrics
  • Andy Morin – keyboards, production, lyrics

Additional personnel

Charts
Chart (2018) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[34] 97
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[35] 10
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[36] 16

References
  1. "Listen to Death Grips' New Song with 'Shrek' Director". Spin. 2018-06-16. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  2. Weingarten, Christopher R. (June 26, 2018). "Review: Death Grips' 'Year of the Snitch' Is a Cyber-Noise-Punk-Rap Disruption". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  3. "Apple Music - Year of the Snitch". Apple. Retrieved 2018-06-26.
  4. "CD: Death Grips - Year of the Snitch". theartsdesk.com. August 6, 2018.
  5. "Death Grips on Instagram: "we're working on the new death grips album. but in the meantime, we made a new track/mix. it's 22 minutes. link in bio"". Instagram. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  6. "Death Grips on Instagram: "Working with Lucas Abela @insta_gramps_abela"". Instagram. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  7. "Death Grips on Instagram: "Working on the new album with Andrew Adamson"". Instagram. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  8. "Death Grips on Instagram: "Working on the new album with Justin Chancellor"". Instagram. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  9. "Death Grips announce new album 'Year Of The Snitch' - NME". NME. 2018-03-22. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  10. "Instagram post by Death Grips • Mar 22, 2018 at 3:37pm UTC". Instagram. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  11. "Death Grips - Year of the Snitch". 2018-03-31. Archived from the original on 2018-03-31. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  12. "Death Grips on Instagram: "Year of the Snitch album cover"". Instagram. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  13. "Death Grips Reveals Art for New Album Year of the Snitch". Spin. 2018-04-07. Retrieved 2018-04-14.
  14. "Death Grips Reveal New Album Tracklist". Pitchfork. 2018-04-11. Retrieved 2018-04-13.
  15. "Death Grips Share New Song "Streaky"". Stereogum. 2018-05-05. Retrieved 2018-05-06.
  16. "Listen to Death Grips' New Song "Black Paint"". Pitchfork. 2018-05-15. Retrieved 2018-05-15.
  17. "Death Grips Share Video for New Song "Flies": Listen". Pitchfork. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  18. "Death Grips on Instagram: "The majority of "Year of the Snitch" features DJ SWAMP"". Instagram. Retrieved 2018-05-24.
  19. "Listen to Death Grips' New Song "Ha Ha Ha"". Pitchfork. 2018-06-07. Retrieved 2018-06-07.
  20. "Death Grips Set Release Date for 'Year of the Snitch,' Share New Song". Exclaim!. 2018-06-07. Retrieved 2018-06-08.
  21. "Death Grips – Dilemma (ft. Andrew Adamson)". 2018-06-15. Retrieved 2018-06-15.
  22. "Death Grips - Shitshow". Retrieved 2018-06-17.
  23. Ian, Cohen (June 28, 2018). "Death Grips: Year of the Snitch Album Review". Pitchfork.
  24. "Year Of The Snitch by Death Grips reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved June 26, 2019.
  25. "Year Of The Snitch by Death Grips Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  26. Wacey, Rob. "Year of the Snitch – Death Grips". AllMusic. Retrieved July 4, 2018.
  27. Boyer, Jake (June 26, 2018). "'Year of the Snitch' Is the Strangest Death Grips Record Yet". Highsnobiety. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  28. Loftin, Steven (June 23, 2018). "There's beauty amid the chaos of Death Grips' Year of the Snitch". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  29. Devlin, Ben (June 22, 2018). "Death Grips – Year Of The Snitch". MusicOMH. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  30. Cohen, Ian (June 28, 2018). "Death Grips: Year of the Snitch". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  31. Stasis, Spyros (July 16, 2018). "Death Grips Produce Another Fun Ride on 'Year of the Snitch'". PopMatters. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  32. Weingarten, Christopher R. (June 30, 2018). "Death Grips' 'Black Paint' Is the Song of the Summer". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  33. "Death Grips share tracklist for new album 'Year Of The Snitch'". DIY. Retrieved 2018-10-28.
  34. "Death Grips Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  35. "Death Grips Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  36. "Death Grips Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
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