Album review: Thotcrime – D1G1T4L_DR1FT

Somewhat unsurprisingly, the crossroads where hyperpop intersects with cybergrind is not the place for easy listening. It’s territory that Illinois/Philadelphia/Nottingham collective Thotcrime have scorched through before, with 2020’s mind-mashing debut ønyøurcømputer establishing their reputation as one of the most thrillingly fearless new acts in heavy music. On no-holds-barred follow-up D1G1T4L_DR1FT, however, they add unexpected new dimensions of sweetness and savagery to that already searing sound.

Reference points aren’t easy to pin down. Gnarly opener This Isn’t Foundation, Now Give Me Your Skin Please?, trust://fall and 4V3R4G3_TU35D4Y are built from the sort of pinballing anarchy and sassy melody that call to mind early Rolo Tomassi and iwrestledabearonce. Elsewhere, the more driving, blastbeaten sections of There Will Come Soft Rains… and Rejection Sensitivity Dysphoria evoke Genghis Tron and Agoraphobic Nosebleed. But then there’s a track like Tweet This!, full of the electropunk mischief, while Critical Codependence begins with beatdown brutality, before opening out into a beautifully autotuned pop flourish that could’ve come from any number of early 2010s chart pop heroes.

D1G1T4L_DR1FT will not be an album for everyone. Between breakneck genre-shifts and unhinged imagery, some will be bamboozled, while others will struggle to find enough sink in their teeth. The habit of drawing attention from occasionally repetitive riffage and technical shortcomings with wave after wave of sonic glitches, bonkers samples and digital mayhem, too, will irk a certain type of purist. For those with the correct constitution, though, its avalanche of punk energy, industrial heft and lurid colour and could hardly feel more thrillingly fitting in the here and now. Strap in.

Verdict: 4/5

For fans of: iwrestledabearonce, Scene Queen, Rolo Tomassi

D1G1T4L_DR1FT is out now via Prosthetic