How often can one say they witnessed the invention of a new genre of music while it was happening, something so distinct and defiant of classification that it demands a new niche all its own? That’s the reality for fans of 100 Gecs, the Missouri-based duo of Laura Les and Dylan Brady who have pushed pop music so far beyond its original scope that they’ve willed into existence a new sonic realm entirely.
While not technically the first group to be labeled “hyperpop”, they’ve quickly become the first band most people associate with it, their blend of frantic guitars, synths, and pitched-up vocals riding the waves of SoundCloud and TikTok to become one of the fastest-expanding new movements in recent years. Hyperpop’s high-bpm frenzies are irresistible, combining the raw energy of rave music and EDM with the skillful manipulations and sheer craziness of industrial techno, plunderphonics, and breakbeat. With their self-titled EP and more recently debut album 1000 Gecs (plus a companion album of remixes subtitled The Tree of Clues), they’ve built a new sort of pop that you can absolutely lose your mind to on the dance floor with its rapid twists and turns but is also layered with tons of minute detail that rewards intentioned listening.
There’s a deeply personal element to the constitution of the band’s songs as well – one of the most iconic elements of the Gecs vocal style, the auto-tune, wasn’t simply an aesthetic choice, but a way of coping with her gender dysphoria. Reminiscent of the remix genre nightcore, Les took this sort of manipulation and applied it to the band’s original work, and the distinctive sound of hyperpop as we now know it was born. Her relative openness about the impact of her transition on the band’s art has helped garner a wide and welcoming fanbase. Les has also said that listeners will hear her unprocessed voice on the next 100 Gecs record, fittingly entitled 10000 Gecs, an exciting prospect.
Headlining a sold-out show at Boston’s Royale nightclub, tickets for which evaporated into the ether in hours, Les and Brady are clearly eager to show off the material which they were denied the chance to perform live in 2020 for obvious reasons. Locked inside, seeking distraction by phone, 100 Gecs’ virality took to new heights and for the many eager, mostly young faces in the crowd, this very well may be their first chance to experience the spectacle in person.
The duo emerges onstage in costume, each bedecked in a flowing wizard’s robe – Les’ is emblazoned with the classic star pattern, while Brady’s features eighth notes and is accompanied by a massive droopy hat which he retains even after the robes come off a few songs into the night. There’s certainly always been a good degree of silliness with 100 Gecs, their promotional material, and their music. After all, the band has produced a Christmas track called ‘Sympathy 4 the Grinch’; the iconic ‘Stupid Horse’, an electro-ska party anthem from the POV of a disgruntled gambler in a sea of surreal imagery; and of course ‘Money Machine’, whose absurd paragraph of an intro is known verbatim by nearly everyone in attendance.
But simply because their songs are incredibly quotable, their aesthetic is often humorous, and they seem to court viral success at every angle, to write the band off as merely the stuff of memes or a flash in the pan would be an utter mistake. There’s immense musicianship here, and 100 Gecs demonstrate nothing but a total willingness to continue innovating and colliding their influences together. The new track ‘Billie Knows Jamie’ draws heavily from 90s rap-rock, but quickly pivots from Beastie Boys to blast beats and screamo as Les howls during the final minute of the song. ‘Fallen 4 Ü’ features Les and Brady on acoustic guitar, Les’ pitch-shifted voice ringing out over the crowd and commanding rapt attention even in the absence of the band’s usual bombast. Songs start and end abruptly – there’s not an ounce of wasted time or energy here.
During each song the crowd goes wild – bouncing up and down as if on springs, and in between tracks they chant “gecgecgec” endlessly, whipping the room into a frenzy for whatever comes next. Les and Brady are practiced DJs and emcees at this point, commanding the front of the stage and bouncing up and down with the crowd. Les in particular is all smiles every time she gazes out into the crowd. Late in the set comes a song where, despite a hook featuring the lyric “and you’ll never really know / anything about me”, this appears to be one of the cuts from the next record where Les sings without vocal processing, juxtaposing the written sentiment with one of the inaugural displays of her unmodified timbre.
It’s fitting that each of the band’s albums is an exponent of the previous one because if there’s a musical act that embodies the essence of exponential growth and evolution, 100 Gecs are that act. There’s quite literally nothing constraining them, and if songs like ‘Billie Knows Jamie’ and the equally excellent ‘Hollywood Baby’ are any indication, 10000 Gecs is shaping up to be a monster of a record that will see the band taking over the world all over again.
Photos and review by Collin Heroux
