REVIEW: Lip Critic - Theft World
- Zuzanna Pazola
- Apr 29
- 3 min read
There’s a version of Theft World that probably could’ve existed where LIP CRITIC doubled down on what previous album, Hex Dealer started - more chaos, more sharp left turns, more of that “anything goes” energy that made them such an immediate talking point. Instead, this feels like a deliberate shift. Not a retreat from that previous intensity, but a refinement of it into something more focused, more suffocating, and in a strange way, more purposeful.
A lot of that comes down to how the band handles momentum. The dual drummers are the obvious centrepiece, but it’s not just about sheer impact. There’s a constant forward push running through the record, like it’s never quite willing to settle. Even when tracks dip into something more fractures or off-kilter, there’s still that sense of being dragged along with it. It’s relentless without becoming monotonous, which is harder to pull off than it sounds.
What really elevates Theft World, though, is how heavily it leans into texture. The hardcore foundation is still there, but it’s constantly being warped by electronic elements, samples, and digital noise that feel just as important as the ‘traditional’ instruments. Tracks like My Blush (Strength Of The Critic), Debt Forest, and Charity Dinner lean into that especially well, layering synthetic elements in a way that makes everything feel slightly unstable. It’s clear that the production choices on this album end up doing as much storytelling as the vocals, which ends up being one the album’s biggest strengths.
That approach ties neatly into the album’s wider concept. Built from a genuinely bizarre real-life experience involving identity theft and a fan’s completely detached interpretation of LIP CRITIC’s music, Theft World explores obsession, control, and distortion in a way that never feels overly literal. Instead of spelling things out, it builds a world that feels fragmented and uneasy, where nothing quite lines up but everything still connects on a gut level. Jackpot works as one of the album’s clearest focal points in that regard, spiralling around addiction in a way that feels both exaggerated and uncomfortably close to reality. The jittery, almost mechanical energy mirrors that sense of losing control, with everything building and collapsing in on itself like a win that was never really a win to begin with.
Even the shorter tracks play into that: Drumming With Izzy and Yard Sale (230 Take) could’ve been moments to catch your breath, but they’re anything but. They’re chaotic in their own right, acting more like sharp interruptions than breaks. If anything, they reinforce the album’s pacing rather than disrupting it, keeping things unpredictable without losing direction.
There’s also something worth noting about how this record came together. Knowing it was effectively a pivot - shelving previous material in favour of something shaped by that insane real-world encounter - gives Theft World a different kind of weight. It doesn’t feel like a band just experimenting for the sake of it. There’s a sense that this needed to be made in this specific way, even if that meant leaning further into the abstract to get the message across.
That said, it’s not an easy listen. This isn’t the kind of album that immediately clicks on first play, and it’s probably going to alienate some people as it pulls in others. The density of its, both sonically and thematically, can feel overwhelming at times. That does, however, feel entirely intentional. LIP CRITIC aren’t trying to smooth out the edges or make themselves more accessible, they’re committing themselves to a, frankly, nonsensical logic; and that’s ultimately what makes it work.
Theft World isn’t just pushing at the boundaries of hardcore, it’s actively ignoring them. The blend of live instrumentation and digital manipulation, the constant sense of motion, the refusal to sit comfortably in one place all adds up to something that feels genuinely distinct. It might take a couple of listens to fully land, and it won’t be for everyone. But at surface level, there’s enough going on here (especially in the production and overall atmosphere) to absolutely make it worth engaging with.
At its best, Theft World feels like a statement of intent: that being experimental doesn’t have to come at the cost of impact, and that there’s still room within hardcore for something this strange to exist and connect.
Score: 7/10
Theft World will be released on 1st May 2026 via Partisan Records.
Words: Zuzanna Pazola
Photos: Justin Pietropaoli
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