In an era of genre-defying acts like Clown Core and Ho99o9, we’re seeing a lot of new bands stepping forward and stepping up with equally outlandish and brilliant examples of what is possible when boundaries are pushed. NYC’s latest offering in this vein is the debut album from Lip Critic.
Releasing via Partisan on 17th May, Hex Dealer comes off the back of a run of critically acclaimed singles. It’s punk; it’s hip hop; it’s glitchy and abrasive. The samples are unhinged (see the farm animal screeches on ‘Milky Max’), and the vocals flit between a smooth rap flow on ‘Bork and Pelly’ and ‘My Wife and The Goblin’ to a harsh bark on ‘It’s The Magic’ and ‘In The Wawa (Convinced I Am God)’, managing to hit just about every point in between within the rapid 30-minute run time.
They’ve squeezed 12 tracks onto this album, and still left me wanting more – it undeniably leaves an impact.
Particularly ‘Love Will Redeem You’, which exemplifies the sound of Lip Critic (as much as any track can), and the back-to-back of ‘Sermon’ and ‘I’m Alive’ toward the tail end of the album, jumping from hardcore punk to experimental hip hop in under four minutes. It’s genre whiplash and I love it.
Hex Dealer is out via Partisan Records on 17th May
