The Gothsicles - Squid Icarus

Aside from listening to their collaborative effort with Santa Hates You on the track Watch Out Motherfucker, I Know Karate, I have never listened to The Gothsicles. But, with a lot of hype built around their fourth album, Squid Icarus, and also receiving praise from various other well known artists, I decided to give them a full listen.

And, from the outside looking in, this is a pretty impressive package. Thirteen tracks are wrapped up in a neat little present for all to listen to, and was worked upon from top producers such as Assemblage 23, Faderhead, Rotersand, Christ Analogue, and Haujobb, which rightly explains why the quality and sound is so fucking good. Aside from that, both Angelspit and Cyferdyne appear on the album in unity with The Gothsicles.

But, pushing the album even further, the stellar artwork was crafted through the help of Angelspit, while fashion photographer Emily Gualdoni committed straight to the photoshoot. The result is a crazy awesome album cover that is both intriguing and amusing at the same time. But, with all that said, there's only one question left to answer: "How is the music?" And the answer is, "Brilliant."

Now, in all honesty, when I read that this act was fairly well into the EBM scene, I got a little scared at first, for I listened to one too many EBM acts claiming to do something different only to fall flat on their faces. But, this was not the case by far for Brian Graupner and his merry band. From the get go, the mixture of older-industrial aesthetics with a love for video game sounds and influences were notable with Super Scary Action Figure (I Want To Eat Your Brain). While the vocals may turn some off, I absolutely applauded the psycho-vocals this man presented. The geeky minded soul behind this music just isn't afraid to be himself by far, and I find that a beauty to behold.

Again, with tracks such as Drop Dead, Squid Face! and Ultrasweaty, the recognition to create music that is just traditional and sweeping four-on-the-floor dance grooves is met, but with such a fantastic chiptune influence and pulsing life that it breathes a fresh air.

Cyferdyne invaded I Sniffed The Glove in this versus song. Adding in some guitar loops and adding in dual vocals was cute. Not as synth oriented this time around, with the vocals coming forth over the music, the track did justice.

Perhaps one of the songs that most anyone enthusiastic video gamer that visited arcades often, Give Me One Chance to Get the Hi-Score, The We Can Go was a complete nostalgia trip. Beautiful underlying synths and a simple rhythm mixed with more chiptune sounds, with lyrical content that cracks down perfectly on the title of the song. It was wonderful.

Moon Knight Is Cool was the first song to really play with the vocals; with the usual seductive shouting came along robotic, soft vocals as well as completely distorted chords. Without fault, these guys know how to change up their album to keep the experience engaging. Perhaps serving as an intermission, Chip Replacement Surgery played with chiptune sounds, and only chiptune sounds. Only lasting a little over a minute, a NIN cover titled Black T-Shirt came next. I've never really dived into NIN's discography, so I don't really know what the original sounds like, but this song was fun and humorous nonetheless.

The next three songs were all astounding, as well. From the distorted whispers in Sword Cane, to the heavier clashing of Cthulhu Fharwagon, straight down to Bloodlust Software Was Awesome's riveting beat, each one of these next songs made me sit down and continue through the album with a happy smile. This Club Is Closed featured Angelspit, and definitely cracked down on that club feeling, and the final track Slime-Half was a final ode to the overall album, sending us out with a final chiptune overture.

Now, as I said before, this was only my first time checking out The Gothsicles But, God damn, I had a huge fucking blast getting through this album. Not only do they pump out completely stellar music that absolutely floored me, but they're able to stay true to their nerdy heart in both song titles and lyrical content. Graupner's voice may not be the best in the world, and should he ever enter American Idol, they'd probably only allow him on the show as a goof. But, his vocals work perfectly in each song that they're presented in.

And, because of his uncaring attitude as to the opinions of others around him, he's able to collect a very loyal following of fans. This guy and the people he surrounds himself with are doing what they love, and there is absolutely no better way to live than that. Keep it going; I'm really loving your style and all that you do. Nov 28 2014