The I.L.Y.S are an Experimental Rock duo from Sacramento consisting of drummer Zach Hill and guitarist Andy Morin. Essentially they are two third of Death Grips, one of the most exciting new bands Ive heard, this bands identity resembles the group in its attraction to dissonant sounds and odd ball nature, the songs feel similar too however don't carry quite the same weight. This is the first of two records, a short one too at just under thirty minutes, which delves into arty, noisy aesthetic led tangents of Noise Rock and Grunge with a raw Punk attitude. Between it all electronic sounds mingle and intensify, giving much depth to the sound.
At first glance its a noisy mess of oddities but in a similar fashion to Death Grips, strange musical ideas emerge from the chaos. Simple and pleasing rhythms, grooves and riffs are abstracted by crooked distortions, bending and manipulating most aspects bar the drums. "Specalized" takes breathing, half spoken noises as musical samples and the tracks words are indistinguishable in moments. This waves of sounds are heard in excessive vocal revebs and the noisy guitars which utilize very half measured, dissonant, almsot plastic like distortions. Trying to pick it apart is quite the task as each song takes a different approach to the construct of its instruments. Ultimately they end up forming a coherent songs with an musical objective to relate to than its noisy exterior as the guitar riffs, for the most part, lead the songs.
With "Bubble Letters" the energy picks up for a moment as they push into party territory, that song and the following reminding me fondly of early 90s The Prodigy of all things. That's the records best moment as the rest of it is reasonable, to be fair these songs are quiet exciting in your first few listens, there's a lot going on and its all a blur. Getting familiar with them is fun but once the unpredictability wears off and the confusing aesthetics no longer creates a sense of excitement, the core music is rather simple and not particularly grabbing. Personally I feel as is too much focus on exteriors, the internal music is lacking in lasting substance, otherwise it could be a recipe for success.
Favorite Tracks: Articulate, Bubble Letters, Specialized, All She Does Is Kill Shit
Rating: 5/10