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Hyperpop Part 1: “gec. Back once again." 10,000 gecs Review

Written by: Josephine Moran

Edited by: Ryan Pasko



It's finally here. Ten THOUSAND Gecs. As some have pointed out, that's a lot of gecs. That is a lot of gecs indeed.



Laura Les and Dylan Brady are the proverbial wizards beneath the traffic cone robe, the doritos beyond the fritos, the 7-Eleven behind the beverage; these two are the mad scientists responsible for 100 gecs. The hyperpop duo began writing together by sending Logic files back and forth from different cities, but after their first album's success, they are now both based in LA. We have had some glimpses into their work with their Christmas song, "sympathy for the grinch", and their snake eyes ep, but 10,000 gecs marks the release of their long-awaited second album. The duo told Pitchfork back in 2021 that their new album would be 10x better than 1000 gecs, so it's no surprise they were meticulous in its production.


Photo: 1000 gecs album cover


So what makes this album special? True to hyperpop, the 26 minutes and 53 seconds of 10,000 gecs blends so many genres that there is something for everybody. Whether you like hardcore guitar breakdowns, feral ska, campfire sing-a-longs, layered EDM development of a single lyrical motif, punk ballads, or experimental Nintendo-core, Gecs have the track for you.


Photo by: Andi Elloway


(This article is the first in our series on hyperpop. Look out for our second installment: "What the Gec is Hyperpop Anyways?")


Photo by: Ariel Fisher


Another prominent quality of hyperpop is its intrinsic queerness. In a 2020 interview with Them., Les described her use of nightcore style pitched-up vocals as helping with her gender dysphoria, saying she "couldn't listen to her regular voice". Les used gender-affirming performatives in her art that are characteristic of the PC music sound. In the new album, however, there are tracks showcasing Les singing without the typical pitch-shifting effects done in post-production in part due to the comfort she has gained in developing her upper range. She also says in the gecs' Pitchfork interview that she's "sick of worrying about it. If I don’t just fucking do it, then I’m just a scaredy cat. And I don’t want to be a scaredy cat". One might infer that, having developed increased comfort in her post-transition gender identity, she feels less of a pull towards the hyperbolic theatricality of an exaggerated approximation of externally defined feminine voice norms; instead, secure in the fact that her voice is feminine because she is a woman, she embraces its non-normative qualities, subverting normative voice femininity rather than focusing on using her voice to signify an approximation of her gender. Listening to the album, she sounds fucking slay.


Photo by: Nick Haymes


(Want to learn more about queerness in hyperpop? Stay tuned for the third installment in our hyperpop series)


As an album overall, the production is incredible as expected, the lyrics are fantastically silly, and the songs themselves go hard. Here is a song by song breakdown:


Art by: u/ooyoo227 posted in r/100gecs


  • "Dumbest Girl Alive"

    • Beginning with the THX sound → what a way to open an album. Brings a whole new meaning to "like a movie fr"

    • Great rock guitar riff on this track → sort of like "Last Resort"/Papa Roach or "Crazy Train"/Ozzy Osbourne

    • This track is probably the closest in style to the singles they put out from this album

    • Favorite lyric: "I did science on my face, I'm the dumbest girl alive"


Photo from the music video for "Dumbest Girl Alive"


  • "757"

    • Very production focused electronic track → the laser sound sampled from Star Wars is the hardest snare you've ever heard

    • The vocal effects in this song are reminiscent of those in "xXXi_wud_nvrstøp_ÜXXx" from the 1000 gecs album

    • Favorite lyric: "I smell trees when I'm in Colorado/Interior gas station McDonald's"


Photo from the music video for "Doritos & Fritos"


  • "Hollywood Baby"

    • This was one of the singles they put out early

    • According to one of my sources, Laura Les was quoted on tour as saying "This next song is called Hollywood Baby. It's about… a Hollywood Baby"

    • Mostly clean vocals, rock guitars, big EDM hits, almost weirdly normal comparatively but it goes hard

    • Favorite lyric: "Do you wanna party?/Malibu Barbie"


Photo: "Gecs appeal" ... Laura Les and Dylan Brady https://www.last.fm/music/100+gecs/+images/fcd9256b912290001cb9053d6766cd7e


  • "Frog on the Floor"

    • The answer to the question: "But what about a hyperpop song you can sing around the campfire?"

    • Very artful choice to have Laura perform the "ribbits", rather than sample them

    • Favorite lyric: "I heard he was telling croaks at the party"



Art by: (top) u/rishonathan and (bottom) u/fuzzhello posted in r/100gecs


  • "Doritos & Fritos"

    • This also was one of the singles they put out early

    • Track wins the Tom Morello award for making a guitar sound like not a guitar

    • Favorite lyric: "At 7-Eleven, I'm drinking a beverage"


Photo by: Chris Maggio


  • "Billy Knows Jamie"

    • The distorted four note lick throughout this song is metal as fuck

    • The breakdown in this song goes crazy

    • Favorite lyric: "Jamie's sweatin' bullets, lookin' in your room/ Jamie doesn't sing he let the speakers go boom"



  • "One Million Dollars"

    • Lovely text painting; tactful sparing use of repetition

    • Would absolutely recommend to fans of Neil Cicierega's "300MB"

    • Favorite lyric: "One Million Dollars"


Photo by: u/IDoBeVibing745 posted in r/100gecs


  • "The Most Wanted Person in the United States"

    • Clear influence from the Red Hot Chili Peppers

    • The folksy outlaw sibling of Frog on the Floor

    • Favorite lyric: "Yeah, I'm a real killer/I just killed Bobby, then I ate his dinner"



  • "I Got My Tooth Removed"

    • The ballad of the album

    • Truly a lesson in classical form, ska, and juxtaposition

    • Favorite lyric: "I brushed every day/I gave it all away"


Photo by: Chris Maggio


  • "mememe"

    • This was the first of the singles they put out early

    • The EDM / rock mix central throughout this entire album

    • Debatably the catchiest of the songs here; a strong closer

    • Favorite lyric: "I used to tap dance when I was in choir/And I broke my arm when my dad crashed a go-kart"


Photo from the music video for "mememe"


This new project will be a tough act to follow. Brady and Les say they aspire to even greater heights. One of their lofty goals is to earn not merely an EGOT, but a PENOGT (Pullitzer, Emmy, Nobel Prize, Oscar, Grammy, Tony). If they can continue to create works 10x as good as the previous, then they will be PENOGTers in no time. While 100,000 gecs seems unbearably far off, the gecs are currently touring with machin3gir1. They will be in Philly this month and playing a number of other shows. Sign the petition now to get them to play at Newark's own The Secret Tunnel.



 
 
 

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