Administrator - Admn2

'Admn2'
Administrator
2015

(Band Submission)

Genre/s: Synth Punk, Digital Hardcore, Experimental, Electro Pop
For Fans Of: Broken Prayer, Atari Teenage Riot, Adbaloons, Godflesh

Oneohtrix Point Never released an EP earlier this year, and the first track on it was essentially a Slayer track rendered entirely in MIDI instruments. I was hooked, needless to say - hearing one of my favourite electronic music producers channeling the Doom theme song scratched an itch I never knew I had. I mention this because this here release is most definitely in the same vein, and more - and I'm beyond stoked it exists.
Admn2 sounds like the your favourite electro pop band merging with thrash metal, industrial metal and synth-punk. The end result is vaguely dystopian and robotic, yet upbeat and infectiously catchy. Distorted electronic guitar riffs are played off against soaring synth lines and pop hooks, and by jove it works damn you! Special mention in particular goes to closing track Last-Screamed Thing, ending the album brilliantly with a bona-fide pop banger which recalls both HEALTH's more recent output AND Yellow Magic Orchestra - while remaining totally original in its own right.
MIDI-thrash-synth-pop may not sound like your cup of tea, but if you're interested in experiencing this somewhat niche (i.e non-existent) genre, this here is more than definitely the best place to start. What's more it's free on bandcamp, which is fucking excellent AND it also means you have absolutely no reason to not click that link below and get down to some A-Grade hacker music.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Never Wanna (Go There)
2. Blood Painting
3. New Floating Body
4. Bad People
5. I'll Fix it Later
6. I Have a Scream
7. New Ways of Killing
8. New Way of Dying
9. Last-Screamed Thing

Bandcamp

Cyborg And Droids

'Cyborg And Droids'
Cyborg And Droids
2015

Review by Joey
Genre/s: Synthpunk, Deathrock*, Hardcore Punk
For Fans Of: Nervous Gender, Mannequin Neurose, Castration Squad, Count Vertigo

Where do I even start with this one? I was turned onto this by someone on facebook (who as it turns out was one of the members of Drainland) because this is the project of one of the other members of Disguise (another member of Drainland) and countless other Irish bands. This sounds nothing like either of those bands. Rather than the raw aggression those bands deliver, this is wacked out synthpunk and probably some of the best synthpunk to come out since the 80s.

Yea, I know. There's tons of mediocre Screamers, Devo, and Count Vertigo wannabes around right now. Forget about them (no really, please can we forget about them). Cyborg And Droids is nothing like those bands, in fact, they succeed where all of the wannabes fall flat. Instead of being contrived copycatting, this material actually has that genuine feeling of weirdness and willingness to fuck around; and because of it, this comes off feeling fresh. The vocals are totally fucked as well, coming in the form of snarls and howls, rather than the typical robotic voice you'd expect from synthpunk. On top of that, there are dark punk influences aplenty, which really drive the whole thing home. Some of the riffing and atmospheres are reminiscent of "Death Church" and "Only Theatre Of Pain," but overall it sounds like what I would imagine would happen if you combined Nervous Gender and Mannequin Neurose (*evil sounding, but more weird than gloomy)

This came out of nowhere and totally floored me. Plus, there's a song called "The Ghost In The Shell," so how can you go wrong?

Tracklisting:
1. The Cybernetic Arm
2. The Robogrip
3. The Droids
4. The Cybernetic Brain
5. The Communication
6. The Ghost In The Shell
7. The Cyborg
8. The Signal
9. The Holocaust
10. The Extinction

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Geza X - You Goddam Kids!

'You Goddam Kids!'
Geza X
1981

Review by Joey

Genre/s: Art Punk, Synthpunk, Punk
For Fans Of: Count Vertigo, Lucrate Milk, Outer Circle, No Trend (1985-87)

Can someone explain to me why people are going wild over bands who are nothing more than cheap imitations of late 70s/early 80s freaky punk, but somehow don't know who these new bands are ripping off? I'll do my best not to shit talk bands like Coneheads in this review, but I can't make any promises.

So, Geza X was super important. I mean really important. He was an LA record producer who worked the sound at the legendary Masque club and is responsible for some of your favorite punk records from bands like Germs, Dead Kennedys, The Bags (who he played in), Modern Warfare, Weirdos, The Deadbeats (another project he played in), and Black Flag.

Even with all of that under his belt, Geza also had a band of his own which, in my opinion, was also incredibly important. His band, named for himself -- although also sometimes billed as The Mommy Men -- put out some very bizarre punk which utilized synths, keyboards, saxophone, marimba, and several backup singers. You can probably imagine this is some weird shit, but you need to hear it to fully understand. Some of these songs have an almost industrial feel to them, some sound like demented new wave, and others are akin to commercial jingles you would hear in hell.

So forget about that shitty demo tape of whatever derivative band (who are missing the point) that people are raving about and listen to the real thing. Sci-fi sunglasses and leather gloves don't make you a freak, you're exactly the type of people that the bands you jock were making fun of. Now get to learnin' you goddam kids!

Tracklisting:
1. Rio Grande Hotel
2. Hungarian
3. We Need More Power
4. Isotope Soap
5. Paranoids
6. Pony Ride
7. Funky Monsters
8. Practicing Mice
9. I Hate Punks
10. Mean Mr. Mommy Man

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Pop. 1280 - The Grid

'The Grid'
Pop. 1280
2010

Review by Brayden Bagnall

Genre: Noise Rock, Post Punk, Synth Punk
For Fans Of: Destruction Unit, Big Black, Mutant Video, Total Control

Pop. 1280 have reached the fabled balance between style and substance - the mythical middle ground between having decent music and a rockin' aesthetic to boot. Sure pink album covers and driving gloves are cool, but you know what's even cooler? Cyberpunk -  cyberpunk lifted straight from the gutters of a very grimy, 1970/1980s New York. This feels like Videodrome, Escape From New York, The Warriors and THX 1138 somehow got together and started a punk band together.
Style aside, Pop. 1280's music is every bit as sinister and sleazy as a 70s sci fi flick, melding synth lines with angular, scraping guitars to create their 'cyberpunk' sound. There's 9 tracks here, broken up by instrumental interludes that sound like they could've been lifted straight from a John Carpenter film, all of which really convey the pulsating, unsettling throb of an urban dystopia. Lyrically The Grid explores the underbelly of this decaying city, and the prostitutes, junkies and chronic masturbators who populate it, detailed by a vocalist that sounds a tad bit like Trent Reznor (just a bit).
Stylistically appealing and musically appealing, this is one for those of you who like your noise rock a little more refined, but disturbing and weird nonetheless.

TRACKLISTING:
1. Step Into The Grid
2. Interlude
3. Anonymous Blonde
4. Data Dump
5. Redtube
6. Interlude 2
7. Midget
8. Trash Cop
9. Outerlude

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