With
Death Grips now functioning on a part-time basis,
Zach Hill and Andy Morin have more time on their hands, and the third album from their band
the I.L.Y.'s sounds less like a side project and more like an act with a separate and distinct musical personality of its own. It also sounds a lot less like
Death Grips; 2017's
Bodyguard is less jagged and aggressive than 2016's Scum with Boundaries, and much of the time it sounds as if
the I.L.Y.'s are making their pop move. Granted, that's a relative statement, and
Bodyguard still sounds dark and off-kilter a good percentage of the time, but it's never as abrasive or forceful as their first two albums, and it's a far cry from what they did with
Death Grips, even while discounting the often confrontational presence of Stefan Burnett on
DG's recordings. In their way,
the I.L.Y.'s' attack on
Bodyguard suggests an updated variation on mid-period
Jesus and Mary Chain, in which they have mastered the art of being tuneful and just a bit off-putting at the same time, with their blend of fuzzy guitars, pounding drums, and textural electronics. They even sound like they're having something approaching fun on tracks like "Well Known People Want to Know," "49er Lighter," and "I Love You Man," the latter of which seems to embrace and satirize bro culture at the same time. The surrealism of the lyrics (where outré statements such as "Like sperm on a hi-hat, keepin' things quiet" refuse to be smoothed out by context) only adds to the music as one more subtle agitator, and
Bodyguard is an album that seems determined to balance every fun moment against something else just a bit uncomfortable. Judging from the results,
Zach Hill and Andy Morin have a long career of difficult pleasures ahead of them. ~ Mark Deming