A Lot on My Crate

Nathaniel Ritchie and Parker Corey make up the experimental hip hop duo By Storm. But fans who have followed them since their Injury Reserve days know that they’re very familiar with tragedy. I won’t get too into it, but since their former member Stepa J. Grogg’s unfortunate passing, it was a weight on a lot of people’s hearts. He wasn’t just a band member, he was their friend. I first heard of Injury Reserve through their hard hitting “Oh Shit!!!” single and loved their Floss LP. When it came to a sound and style that is so left field when it’s juxtaposed to hip hop, these guys were ahead of the curve. They have made other avant-garde bangers such as the freaky industrial track that is “Jailbreak the Tesla” or the jarring “Jawbreaker”. They were the ones to look at. So, it was like a part of their soul fell to pieces, since Grogg’s passing. They expressed this grief by going out guns ablazing with their last hurrah under the Injury Reserve name and utilizing leftover vocals of Groggs and made the amazing abstract hip hop project that is By the Time I Get to Phoenix. It took me a few listens, since I was so used to bangers from their previous projects, but I was floored on how expressive and tragic it was. It moved me to the point that it’s mine and a lot of fans’ favorite record from them to this day with the sad realization that Groggs won’t be able to witness that. Thankfully, Ritchie and Corey still have the fire in them to pursue music together and fast forward five years and they’ve released My Ghosts Go Ghost under the new group moniker, By Storm as referenced from the last track the Phoenix album. To no one’s surprise, it’s not a feel good album. But it is such a release. The prevalence of ghosts in the title probably means something is haunting them. Whether it’s our inner or outer demons that has been haunting us, this album would be relatable in so many ways. So, the emotions provoked are similar to Phoenix, however the byproduct is not lost after these years as their craft is still there. It’s tough to fathom how the thought process came to these two minds as you hear these crazy/harrowing sounds that hit as hard as the writing. But the boys are back. They took a break, but they never left.

We get into these cascading Spanish guitar samples with Ritchie’s vocals just jumbling all over the place like a tortured spirit with “Can I Have You for Myself?” It gets more and more chaotic while Ritchie projects a really flawed person into the mix. Apparently, this album comments on his fatherhood and it is jarring that he is this honest. Parents are flawed human beings. When us kids grow up, we realize that even more. It keeps up this ghostly aesthetic in “Dead Weight”, where these shimmering guitar samples shine in the background of a tortured Ritchie. It’s a person in grief, a person in denial, a person who has his fingers to his ears. It’s such a great performance to the piece, but because of what Ritchie and Corey are going through, could you even call it acting? In “Grapefruit”, we have minimalist drums, pianos, and hi-hats along with this sitar-sounding like instrumental supporting an unhinged flow of Ritchie’s vocals. It’s repetitive, but muted since it wants to accentuate how Ritchie is on the teetering edge of losing it. It gives me a slight chuckle, but at the same time how he delivers the line “It ripped me open.”, which is followed by a hilarious chant of “grapefruiiiit”, yet it gives me a hint of anxiety feeling the weight of this character’s world. We’re driving into the sunset of “In My Town.” It’s at this point, where I start thinking, how the hell do they pull these sick guitar samples?

One of the best moments of the LP is when “Double Trio 2” becomes this chaotic storm of brass, winds, and percussion just discombobulating my ears. It puts you at a high with references of the storm from the Phoenix album. Who ya gonna call? Because this song is probably the most self-affirming as they get back their composure to fight back these ghosts. It feels like a satisfying climax. It is the banger of the album. They ride this high on “And I Dance” as it sounds like Ritchie is having the time of his life. He’s in a drunken stupor and full of bliss. He goes on saying, “There’s nothing to run from.”, as the obliviousness comes to a screeching halt as the production gets hazier and destroys itself at the end. Reality sets in. Then the album closes out with “GGG”, that again comes with beautiful guitar samples! It comes to the realization that the grief will come back. Ritchie pleading with his passed friend to not let him go. It’s such a tragic, beautiful song and the emotive “beat” don’t help either. We get to the theme of the title of the album. It’s up to these two if they overcome.

It did slow down a little around the midpoint as “Zig Zag” and “Best Interest” seemed to be much more toned down sonically and emotionally. Also, as much as I always look forward to Billy Woods features, this one didn’t really add anything for me.

These are two individuals holding it together. They are teetering on the edge. They gave us great art here, albeit from horrible events. Unfortunately, I think the name change has something to do with their listening count, since people are unaware they used to be known as Injury Reserve. They deserve the recognition, because as of now, this is still the best hip hop record of the year so far and we’re almost at the middle of it. It’s not only just beautifully eerie, it’s heartbreaking as well. It’s a great outlet to anyone going through grief, stress, or just plain feeling stuck in limbo. This abstract hip hop album sounds like you’re trying to pull off an escape from purgatory. It’s a profile of a relatable character trying to frantically pick up their peace and attempting to convince themselves that everything is ok. Ghosts and all, we do joke that we treat our way of living as some kind of purgatory.

FAVORITE TRACKS: DEAD WEIGHT, GRAPEFRUIT, IN MY TOWN, DOUBLE TRIO, AND I DANCE, GGG

LEAST FAVORITE: BEST INTEREST