Right, so this is a thing. I kinda stumbled upon 100 Gecs' first record, after hearing some buzz about it online and completely fell in love with it. It was so brilliantly left field that it made me really invest in its sound, it's strange lyrics and hyper pop adjacent flashiness. It was an album that was on repeat for months after, and I sometimes still revisit every now and again for a laugh. Now, their first major label record, 10,000 Gecs. Will it be more hilarity and absurdly good electronica, or will the label's control of their process mellow this one out? Have a peek at my track by track breakdown and review to find out what I think:
1."Dumbest Girl Alive"2:17 - The old THX intro is nostalgic as fuck, and as it roars distorted into a pretty sweet guitar and blaring bass fuelled beat, full of the signature 100 gecs flair and aggression, before moving into the verse, great vocals and almost Sicko Mode background beat that goes really hard, the additional SFX are really impactful too, and the sudden strip back to the guitar is unexpected and makes the breakdown really well earnt, this song is another slickly made and brilliantly arranged track
2."757"2:07 - A nice bright opener, the vocals are almost incomprehensible but fits the vibes really nicely, the track builds again really effectively and has my head banging, the second verse is another really great addition, the beat dropping in and out also allows for some really good vocal emphasis, although the vocals are muddy it's still really good, the breakdown is again really good, and the choice to move into half speed here is so slick
3."Hollywood Baby"3:07 - Another guitar opener here, much more natural drum beat before moving into the more electric feel, the extreme vocals are really effective here, I like the themes here, and the pitched harmonics on the vocals are really clean and pair so well with the grungier background plot, it's another certified head banger, rising and falling really well and naturally, it's just really good manic hyper pop, this track is yet more evidence that even with the silly exterior these guys know what their doing to a really precise margin
4."Frog on the Floor"2:40 - Good clean vocal opening, and pairing this with the more comical piano makes this sound like a kids song, but again it's really well done, hilariously. It's got these really slick layers with almost surf guitar over the top and it's brilliant. More of a jokey track, but hey, it works, and it moves into a really dope bass led section at the end that really goes hard in the very 100 Gecs way
5."Doritos & Fritos"3:16 - The distorted guitar and drums make me think this track is going to be another rager, the weaving bassline building nicely here, it's another greatly built track that grows and has more of those pitched vocals over the more natural instrumentation, and the dichotomy is really effective, the lyrics seem more like a stream of conscience than anything, but it adds to the pretty manic overall vibe of this one, it's funky, and pretty multifaceted in a way only these guys could pull off
6."Billy Knows Jamie"2:48 - The opener to this track sounds like more of a Limp Bizkit entry than anything, ripped from the early 2000's Nu-Metal scene, I seriously dig this sound, with the bassline being the central to this, along with some great attack in the vocals, the instrumentation here is so fucking effective, it hits hard, gets your blood pumping and makes you want to jump around, before screeching into this metalcore breakdown, muddy and distorted, the end to this song is so full on that it feels like a fist fight, the track is just imploding on itself, and y'know what, I don't mind.
7."One Million Dollars"2:00 - More of a flex of their skills in creating than lyricisim, One Million Dollars is a great little song that proves that this pair can take a mundane phrase and create a song that would absolutely murder at a club, underground or otherwise, chocked full of sampling, loud effects, scratching and industrial breakdowns, this song is a small snippet of what 100 Gecs are capable of purely with their composition, and it's some pretty impressive shit.
8."The Most Wanted Person in the United States"2:35 - The opener is nice and choppy here, with the more mumbled vocals over the laid back beat is a nice new flavour, with the beat going hard until the comedic spring SFX hits and you can't help laughing. Although comedic, it's another really well put together track, and the lyrics hit a lot harder than the funny beat, unlike the last song their letting the words do the moving rather than the beat, and I like that we get almost two sides to the same coin
9."I Got My Tooth Removed"3:17 - Another clean opening here, with some picked guitar and really smooth vocals, and a swing drum beat added on top, this is a far cry from what we're used to, and then it shoots into this weird funk esque Ska beat, with trumpets and gang vocals, It's a song that has me laughing as well as appreciating that this song is really well put together, and when the vocals start to decay with that trademark fuzz, it all starts to fall into place, it's a funny little track, that has some really cool elements even if it's just a little bit hilarious, it's a lot impressive that 100 Gecs are so bloody flexible with their style
10."MeMeMe"2:46 - This feels like a classic 100 Gecs track, a subtle beat with the vocoded sounding lyrics, the blasting beat that sounds like something from a video game, it goes hard, and moves to a really cool mid section with some really nice bouncing guitar before it moves back into the chorus section, it's collective chaos at it's finest here, and at this point it's these guys brand, and that's okay because they do it SO WELL. This is a class closer to this record, all bits well made and well crafted and also weird and wonderful. Huge movements from 100 Gecs. What a closer.
Overall: Look man, no one else is doing it like these guys are doing it. That's just a fact. Between the slick sampling and crushing breakdowns and sllaing riffs, 100 Gecs are pioneers in their genre, and no one can take that away from them. Alright, this project might not be for some, and I probably won't revisit it, it's undeniable that it's impact will be felt for a long time to come.
Rating: 8/10
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