Open Mike Eagle – “Death Parade”

R. Gardiner

Open Mike Eagle – “Death Parade”

R. Gardiner

Back in August, Open Mike Eagle announced his latest album, Anime, Trauma And Divorce. (It’s the followup to 2017’s Brick Body Kids Still Daydream, though he’s been up to a ton in the interim.) So far, we’ve heard a couple songs from it, including “The Edge Of New Clothes,” “I’m A JoeStar,” and “Bucciarati.” Today, with the album arriving at the end of the week, OME has returned with one more preview.

The latest taste of Anime, Trauma And Divorce is its opening track, “Death Parade.” The album supposedly reckons with a whole lot of turmoil in OME’s personal life, and “Death Parade” is a sober account of how trauma recurs in our lives. “This song is about the cycle of trauma,” OME said in a statement. “The personal trauma thats been a throughline in my life and how traumatized people tend to inflict more trauma on themselves and others.”

Musically, “Death Parade” is an eerie drift, built on a lurching but vaporous beat. The lyrics are an elliptical, mantra-like recitation of one person inflicting pain on another and the constant reverberations, culminating in OME rapping “That fucked me up/ So I’ma fuck you up.” “Death Parade” comes with an animated video directed by Ben Clarkson. Check it out below.

Anime, Trauma And Divorce is out 10/16 via AutoReverse Records.

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