Lip Critic - Hex Dealer Album Review

Sometimes you hear an album that makes you want to talk about it. It’s the kind of album that makes you want to immediately send it to everyone you know and rave about how good it is. It’s the type of album that has clear influences and sounds iconic and well established, but you can’t name anything that sounds quite like it. Hex Dealer by Lip Critic is one of those albums, and it is by far the most refreshing thing I’ve heard this year. 

I’m sure the band is tired of being compared to Death Grips, but I think it is still warranted. Lip Critic manages to capture the raw intensity that early Death Grips releases have, while still pushing the sound forward. Musically, the album takes influence from hip hop, industrial, hardcore punk, noise rock, and even breakcore to create a chaotic mess. Held down by the blown out drums and the soundscapes of distorted noise in the beats, the album's vocals take center stage with frontman Bret Kaser mainly rapping about money hungry religious figures who are in it purely to fill their own pockets without actually caring about the ideas they spread or the things they say. His words conjure up images of a runaway consumerist hellscape with references to various forms of technology, expensive clothes, and even sandwiches at one point. 

The record starts off strong with “It’s The Magic”, a lumbering and metallic track that introduces you to what you’ll be hearing on the rest of it. “Love Will Redeem You” and “The Heart” are both high energy bangers with excellent production and crazy sound palettes, with “Bork Pelly” and “Spirit Bomber” keeping the energy going. “Sermon" is perhaps the climax of the album, with the initial desert tinged beat becoming a chaotic, raucous mess of thrash metal drumming, fuzz, and Bret growling and screaming his way through poignant lyrics. The album finishes with back to back bangers, as “In The Wawa” os the type of song mosh pits were made for (see the breakdown at around 1:29), and “Toxin Dodger” ends on a rather bleak note lyrically, which works well in the context of the album. This tracklist is very well paced, and you’d be hard pressed to get bored at all while listening to it. 

Since this album was my first exposure to Lip Critic, I looked on YouTube to see what their live shows were like. Again, I hate to make this comparison, but as someone who has been to a Death Grips show before, these guys have the insane energy in their live performances that Death Grips always does. Bret jumps onto every surface in the venue at least once (barring the ceiling) and will even run into the middle of the crowd to perform his verses. Aside from that, the two (yes two) drummers and co-producer Connor Kleitz operating various electronics add to the chaos that is a Lip Critic show. 

If you have any interest in punk, alternative or industrial hip hop, metal, hyperpop, or just any off-the-wall electronic music, I highly recommend jumping on the Lip Critic train, as I certainly have after this album. 

Recommended if you like Death Grips, Street Sects, or Danny Brown 

Favorite tracks: In The Wawa, Spirit Bomber, and Sermon