Zambian-Canadian rapper Backxwash first came to the public's attention with 2020's God Has Nothing to Do with This Leave Him Out of It, a brief but startling album that stood out due to its inventive production and cathartic lyrics about religion, mysticism, trauma, and redemption. The set was showered with acclaim from metal, hip-hop, and experimental music publications, and won the prestigious Polaris Music Prize, honoring the year's best Canadian album; however, due to its uncleared samples, from Black Sabbath to Eraserhead, the record was removed from streaming services. 2021 follow-up I Lie Here Buried with My Rings and My Dresses is heavier and bleaker than its predecessor, and ultimately feels like an artistic leap forward, even if it chronicles sinking deeper into despair and hopelessness. Mainly produced by Backxwash herself, with additional contributions from clipping., NOWHERE2RUN, and Will Owen Bennett, the songs layer droning metal guitars and ghastly wails over slow, forceful drums, as she frantically shouts about the terrors of her daily existence. It feels inaccurate to label her music as rap-metal, horrorcore, or industrial hip-hop, even if the elements add up to some combination of those styles. While there's unmistakably something macabre and theatrical about her performance, it never seems like she's interested in mere shock value. Her lyrics clearly come from personal experience, and attempt to relay what she's going through, particularly when her life is at its darkest.
Even more than her previous album, I Lie Here directly refers to Backxwash's status as a Black transgender immigrant. "Terror Packets" addresses the hardships faced during the gender transition process, from being disowned by parents to not being properly recognized by the government or the public, and "In Thy Holy Name" samples a church sermon condemning queer people and commanding them to seek deliverance. The song also features a fiery noise outro by breakcore producer and sound designer Lauren Bousfield, and the lyrics mourn the sudden, unexpected death of visionary electronic artist SOPHIE. Ada Rook of cult electro-industrial duo Black Dresses provides the screamed chorus of the album's title track, perhaps its most metal-sounding moment, and adds dark guitar textures to the God-fearing "Song of Sinners," which also features a more hopeful chorus sung by Sad13 (Speedy Ortiz). The cinematic closer "Burn to Ashes" incorporates swirling Godspeed You! Black Emperor samples, which build a foundation for one of Backxwash's most dramatic performances. Throughout the album, she's told that prayer is the only solution to her problems, and in the end there are no real answers; drugs only provide temporary relief, and pandemic-induced isolation is only doing harm. There's seemingly no way out, but her pain is entirely believable, and she expresses it in a brilliant way.