Partisan

2026

The story might be bullshit. As Lip Critic tell it, writing was well underway for the follow-up to 2024 debut Hex Dealer when twisted serendipity struck: Frontman Bret Kaser’s identity was stolen and used to make hundreds of purchases, including — in what Kaser interpreted as a malicious wink — the band’s full discography on Bandcamp. Allegedly, when the offending party showed up at the noisy, hip-hop-infused electronic hardcore band’s merch table a few weeks later in a Five Nights At Freddy’s hoodie, grinning as he recited Kaser’s Social Security number from behind a surgical mask, he revealed himself to be a fan who believed that by hacking Kaser he had defeated a hidden puzzle within Lip Critic’s music.…