10,000 gecs by 100 gecs
In their sophomore album, 10,000 gecs, 100 gecs continues to push the boundaries of pop music with their goofy vibes, genre-spanning influences, and extravagant sound. Duo Laura Les and Dylan Brady seem to approach this album with a goal of keeping the unserious and silly feel of their first project, 1000 gecs, while incorporating more sounds beyond the Skrillex-esc drums and boiler room mayhem present throughout their previous record. Though this style established the production ability and experimental nature of the duo, I was excited to hear them incorporating more. When I first turned on 10,000 gecs I was delighted to hear their legacy style was still present alongside numerous other newly incorporated styles. Notable among these new sounds is punk-rock guitar and drums that, when mixed with the band’s hyper-pop production style, create a style of rock I’ve definitely never heard before. This is still a 100 gecs album at its core, but Laura and Dylan have evolved their sound with the addition of hard rock stylistic choices.
10,000 gecs is sporadic and random; that's the point. With a runtime of only 27 minutes, songs are just as quick to begin as they are to abruptly end. Song one, “Dumbest Girl Alive,” does just this. Opening the song and the album, the THX movie note fades in before being abruptly cut off by three cartoonish gunshots, hard kicking drums, and head-bobbing rock guitars. A deep bass and drum beat play as Laura delivers an encapsulating, distorted and auto-tuned vocal performance. The song is fast and brutal, and is a perfect example of gecs combining their old and new sound. This extremely quick pace continues on the next song, 757, where drums reminiscent of 1000 gecs lay a pitter patter beat for striking pitched vocals that shout lyrics about getting high and living a fast, carefree life. You can’t forget the Star Wars blaster samples shooting throughout this bumping and glitchy beat.
Song three, “Hollywood Baby,” is one of the most popular tracks on this album. The song features smashing drums, ripping guitar, and loud, drained vocals that lift your spirits and heart rate. Combine this with the memorable lyric writing, and you're left with one of the best songs in gecs’s discography. Unsurprisingly, themes switch fast, with one of the most light-hearted, humerical tracks “Frog On The Floor '' up next. A nursery school sounding beat, and frog ribbit samples sound great next to storied lyrics of a frog pulling some party shenanigans. This song is an experience! Shoutout to both the soulful humming, and creative freedom of this song.
Track seven, “One Million Dollars,” has a heavy hitting and swiftly changing beat that lays the groundwork for the rhythmic “one million dollars” vocal chant for the whole two minute track. Jumping from metal-punk to a strange, oversaturated electronic track wouldn’t work with many bands, but it clearly does for gecs. The last song, "mememe", closes the album with a banging beat, and a reminder from Laura that we’ll “never really know anything about (her)”, a message to be appreciated from a mysterious and perplexing band.
From start to finish, the project feels like controlled chaos. Its disorder and mayhem make the album incredibly amusing, and impossible to put down. Styles taken from ska music, pop-punk, and other genres make every song different from the last. Every track on this album is unforgettable!