I first saw Lip Critic at Hotel Vegas in Austin. Off the bat, it gave me anxiety. And I was instantly, strangely enamored by it. The small room was packed out, the air hot, dense, salty — the aggregate of bodies moved in a swarm, bouncing off each other — while they played. The venue was pure, controlled chaos. Allured by their disarming erraticism, elbowing in closer, I got a peek of the maestro controlling said chaos, whomever was guiding the buzzing room into an increasingly intense frenzy. There wasn’t one conductor, though. It was a foursome — two samplers bowed down over a table embellished with a tangled web of electronics, beside two drummers, thrashing over their respective kits, facing each other on either side of the stage.
Writhing to their bizarre and addictive beats, Lip Critic are making their way out of the insular NYC DIY scene, hooking global audiences in with an unrivaled dedication to chasing the experiment. Their sound rips through any preconceived notions around genre — though nods to electronic, punk, hardcore, and DIY styles — offering a revelatory, transcendent experience that can only be called concentrated sonic overload. It’s brash, with waging cymbals furiously meeting their match on every beat, drawing on hardcore and punk rhythms with ramped-up boldness in speed. Both friend and foe, the drums find balance with the samplers’ emotive current and distorted vocals, a twisted echo of club music that hits the inside of your ribcage.
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Though they threaten to return any room to dust that their sound occupies, Lip Critic’s fusion of heavy music and technical DJing also has a disclaimer: Don’t take things too seriously. This is evidenced in the theatricality of Lip Critic sets, spectacles in themselves which are full of unanticipated noises, movement, and punchy, egg-punk lyricism — which they’re taking to another level with Hex Dealer.
Their new album, which arrives tomorrow (May 17), is replete with their trademark manic energy and irreverent ethos. It delivers a dizzying rush that rides on snarky punk spirit, and takes us through 12 dopamine-inducing tracks. There’s an apocalyptic side of Hex Dealer, which dives in and out of darkness, questioning spirituality and death. However, sonically, I’d compare it not to the actual end of the world, per se, but rather the chaos that might ensue just before the meteor, when we’re all scrambling for the last of the canned food and building makeshift bunkers. In those moments, this would be a perfect soundtrack.
This band and their new album are incredibly special. They represent a hopeful reminder that there are still untouched sounds to be created, unique experiences and connections to be opened up for those who appreciate a little anarchy. There is freedom in pandemonium. Chaotic good, chaotic neutral, and chaotic evil can coexist in a song titled, “In the Wawa (Convinced I am God).”
On the eve of Hex Dealer’s release, I spoke to Danny Eberle, one of the group’s dual drummers, about being extreme, coming up in NYC, and what Lip Critic represent.
Where are you from, how did you meet, and how did you end up in the thick of the NY music scene?
We’re from New York City. We met and formed at SUNY Purchase College, except Ilan [Natter] and I who met at a performing arts high school in Manhattan. We have all mostly been active in the New York music scene since well before Lip Critic, so it was only natural we would continue that when this band formed.
How would you describe Lip Critic to someone who’s never seen or heard of you?
I would describe us as a digital hardcore band with two drums, two samplers, and no guitars.
I’m curious about your thoughts on the NYC DIY and punk scene, in general. Favorite and least favorite aspects of it? Do you even identify with it, or as a part of it?
There is a lot to be said about the NYC punk and DIY scene. I feel that there’s such a diverse and exciting array of bands playing shit that sounds different from one another but carries similar ethics. Most of the scene is wildly supportive of each other; going to each other’s shows, buying merch, booking bands, streaming their music, etc. With that being said, I feel some people in the scene have a bit of a “too cool for school” type of attitude around the scene, which can sometimes take the fun out of it.
What were your references when putting the group together — if you’d put out a flyer describing the RIYL required for candidates, what would it have said?
When starting the band, I feel like we wanted to pull from as many influences as possible. Mainly pulling from electronic and punk music, we were influenced by bands like Death Grips, Machine Girl, and Atari Teenage Riot. I feel we also had an initial initiative to not take the band too seriously, despite taking the music seriously, which has carried onto all of our releases.
How have each of your music tastes influenced the band, and each other, in creating this Lip Critic sound?
I feel we all like a lot of the same music, but our primary influences differ, which has influenced our sound greatly. Ilan and I come from a more punk and rock background, with my predominant influences being hardcore punk and extreme metal. Bret [Kaser] and Connor [Kleitz] come from a more electronic and club music background. With Lip Critic, we’re trying to blend together the intensity and song structures of heavy music with the groove and experimentalism of club music. We are also all big fans of hip-hop, both modern and old school, which I believe also has an influence on how we write songs.
How do you hold onto a maximalist approach while remaining cohesively, and consistently, “Lip Critic” at your core, from project to project? And what does that mean, to you, really — what does Lip Critic stand for, sound like, represent?
I think it’s just important for us to stay true to ourselves artistically, no matter what. Each of our releases has taken a different approach to basically the same idea, which is just to create this culmination of every influence in our life and come up with music that is equally entertaining and fun as it is extreme and experimental. We want to continue reinventing ourselves with each release, sometimes making the sounds maximal and sometimes minimal.
What are you hoping the listener feels and hears when they listen to the new album?
More than anything, I hope the album entertains people and makes them wanna move. Dance, crowdkill, go to the gym, whatever.
What’s the process for putting together an album, from writing to production — as Lip Critic? So much of your work appears, to me, abstracted and impromptu. How do you apply that or hold onto that ethos by creating something more concrete?
On past records, Hex Dealer included, we normally start with Bret or Connor creating sort of a skeleton production track that Ilan and I will then add drums to in the studio. Once the drums are added, it becomes easier to figure out a possible song structure, and the production and drums are edited, either slightly or drastically. Bret then adds vocals, turning this production into an actual song. We have also begun to experiment with this formula for our follow-up to Hex Dealer, trying to create productions starting with drums and working on more writing in our practice room together.
What’s the goal with Hex Dealer?
With Hex Dealer, we wanted to create our most cohesive and immediate project yet. We wanted to find a balance between the fast and heavy and the melodic and accessible, and create a complete work.
There’s an energy and style of performance about your sets that is honestly unlike anything I’ve seen. Can you describe, to the best of your ability, what it feels like to play a Lip Critic show, from the drum throne, the sampler, as you’re diving from the stage?
Playing the drums at a Lip Critic show feels a little bit like running on an elliptical in front of a crowd of people. Controlled chaos.
Where do you stand on the idea of being an “underground punk” band as you gain traction? What does that term mean to you?
I personally will always see Lip Critic as a punk or hardcore band, just with an unconventional setup and a bunch of influences that I guess differ from the norm. To me, being a punk or hardcore band really just means to play loud and aggressive music that diverges from what’s popular or mainstream and to be a part of a community of people doing a similar thing.
As a band that’s inherently “experimental,” how do you maintain that sound and mentality as you continue on, with new projects and more shows, and a growing audience? Do you see it as a path of experimentation with an end goal, or is the hope to be a continuous experiment? And on that note, what’s the next concoction, after this album?
I feel naturally due to our unconventional setup and making the type of music that we do, we are always going to be somewhat experimental. We are always experimenting with new sounds and various different influences, but incorporating them into the “Lip Critic sound.” With the follow-up to Hex Dealer we are currently working on, we are trying to make the music as extreme as possible, from both ends. The heavy shit is gonna be even heavier and the softer, melodic moments are gonna be even softer and more melodic.
Who are you listening to?
Modest Mouse, Taking Meds, Militarie Gun, and YHWH Nailgun.
What was the last thing you searched on YouTube?
Joeyy’s On the Radar.
What is your favorite joke about drummers? Or least favorite, I guess.
Q: What do you say to a drummer in a suit?
A: Will the defendant please rise.
Which song on Hex Dealer are you most proud of?
Personally, my favorite song on Hex Dealer is “In the Wawa.”
