100 gecs returns with an album that’s pure fun
It doesn’t take long to see why 10,000 gecs, the newest project from experimental pop visionaries Dylan Brady and Laura Les, is one of the most thrilling releases of the year. The duo’s 2019 debut album 1000 gecs was a landmark in helping to define the relatively new genre known as hyperpop, with singles such as “money machine” making waves over social media. Coming four years later, it’s safe to say there’s been anticipation for a new record, and luckily this album does not disappoint.
Within the span of a single minute, the opener “Dumbest Girl Alive” begins with the signature THX Deep Note theme, transitions into an overblown guitar solo, and follows that up with a beat reminiscent of Travis Scott’s “Sicko Mode.” It is wonderfully bizarre and sets up a 10-track run that only gets stranger as it progresses. The album triumphs as an exercise in throwing so many ideas at the wall that the wall crumbles down.
If there’s one constant running through the entire twenty-seven minute record, it’s silly fun. 10,000 gecs feels like an album extracted from a late night Discord call — a bit too much caffeine in everyone’s system, each person trying to one up the other with jokes. It’s an experience that you laugh with, not at.
Take the song “757,” for example. Its intensely processed vocals emit such high energy that at a certain point they just start muttering gibberish and it still works. Later, the song takes a turn, and the lines “I smoke the trees when I’m in Colorado / Interior gas station McDonalds” play over a methodical, distorted snare and kick drum combo. Do these lyrics make sense? Not particularly. Does it go hard? Very much so.
Going from track to track is akin to playing musical roulette. From a violent encounter sparked by two friends with an equally violent instrumental (“Billie Knows Jamie”), to a ska song recounting the painful aftermath of a trip to the dentist (“I Got My Tooth Removed”), to relaxed verses explaining one’s questionable life choices (“The Most Wanted Person In The United States”), 10,000 gecs runs the gamut of genres and topics.
The philosophy of short-but-impactful material is applied to most of the songs on the album, as they all fall within the two-to-three minute range. This is not an issue on its own, but it’s hard not to want a few extra tracks to flesh out the record a little more. Singles “Hollywood Baby,” “mememe” and “Doritos & Fritos” are clear standouts, and the album would’ve benefitted with one more banger along those lines (though it is telling how good a project is when the only issue is that you want more).
10,000 gecs is the kind of album that gets you excited about music. There is so much bursting at the seams in this collection of tunes. It overflows with creativity and is a testament to the power of friendship, comradery, and cranking the volume up to eleven. It also happens to have a song titled “Frog On The Floor.”
Trial Track: “Hollywood Baby”
8/10