Review Summary: The fractured, bubblegum wall of post irony
100Gecs are insane. Truly completely off the wall ***ing nuts. The brainchild of Laura Les and Dylan Brady, the duo seem content with making some of the strangest, sugary sweet and alienating music in the past decade. Their debut self titled EP is a true spectacle. A horrifying mish mash of pitched vocals, walls of harsh noise, sickeningly twee synth lines and ear shattering bass lines. In a post PC Music world, where the lines between irony and earnestness have merged, 100Gecs standout. Their music is simultaneously fit for the highest energy dance floor and the dreariest of underground noise Parties (though granted it would be turn heads at either venue). The surreal blend of genres doesn’t help the matter. From bubblegum bass, nightcore, harsh noise and mumble rap (from the Duo’s vocal delivery, to the heavy use of trap drums. The first part of ‘*** Teeth’ is literally complete gibberish), the two seem contempt to make a chaotic swirl of styles and sounds to suit their will.
Each track begins as a hyperactive bubblegum bass nightcore fuelled banger before things typically go off the rails and Laura’s vocals morph into a warped yelps or droning misery set to pulsating waves of glitchy noise. Think Year Zero era NiN with a Hello Kitty and 808 fetish. It’s truly a unique listen, from the oddly tense ‘Dog Food’ where Laura’s voice is so tense, her lips smacking together are more audible than the actual lyrics (“Dead man chilling in a box”), to The insanely poppy and bouncy ‘Bloodstains’ which devolves into a blaring industrial nightmare to the final track ‘25 Bands and a Geccco’ [sic], which mashes a watery drum and bass loop with a melody made of dog barking samples
100Gecs is probably the most accurate portrayal of 2017 internet culture and the group’s full length LP 1000Gecs only pushes the out of control ironic insanity to even more dizzying levels. It’s really quite magical. Highly recommended for fans of avant garde electronics, meme rap and people with ADHD
Recommend tracks:
Dog Food
Gum
25 Bands and A Geccco
