The Answer Is In The Beat

Machine Girl: …Because I’m Young Arrogant And Hate Everything You Stand For tape (Orange Milk, 2017) + MRK90 Mix Vol. 1 tape (self-released, 2018)

April 14, 2018 at 8:12 pm | Posted in Reviews | Leave a comment

Both of these have been out for a bit, and anyone who loves Machine Girl has heard them already, but I just recently copped them on cassette when MG played at Detroit’s El Club last month, so it’s worth posting a review of them. …Because I’m Young is a turning point in Machine Girl’s discography, transforming it from a gabber-juke mutant hybrid solo project into a proper band, translating the duo’s live show to audio. This is easily the closest I’ve heard anyone come to making something that sounds like Digital Hardcore Recordings, but updated for the current musical landscape, and 100% relevant. Highly aggressive without being cheesy, smashing anarchist punk and gabber and vaporwave together, sounding equally pissed off and bouncing-off-the-walls ecstatic. “Bullet Hell” is the pogo-friendly highlight, and the modem squeal in the middle is one of many things which pushes it over the top. The last track is called “It Takes A Nation Of Millenials To Destroy A Nation Of Millions…” and it’s an oddly uplifting evil happy hardcore pep talk. All of this breaks new ground and smashes down walls, and like tourmate/splitmate Five Star Hotel, Machine Girl somehow continually outdoes himself every single time.
Since the proper album dropped last year, Machine Girl has also released a mixtape containing an hour-long barrage of unreleased tracks, bootleg remixes, stray ideas, and other ephemera. This one’s way more ravey than what Machine Girl currently plays live, and closer to some of his earlier releases, but still more of a DJ mix than a collection of tracks. It starts out close to breakbeat hardcore, with heavy, choppy breaks and Dizzee Rascal samples. It continues with fast 4/4 beats, sounding unusually straightforward for Machine Girl but still pretty fun. Then there’s a “nuclear apocalypse” bit which flips the switch into hard jungle. The second side continues the journey, delving into some bouncy juke, some acid, and some Missy Elliott samples. Then there’s an atmospheric jungle remix of Sade which has breakbeats just a little bit too mangled and shredded and current-sounding to sound like it wasn’t actually produced in 1995. The last few minutes are drum’n’bass bent slightly out of shape, with an odd time signature but a steady, propulsive drive. The mixtape overall seems a lot looser and less angsty and intense than most Machine Girl, perhaps making it more danceable or easier to put on as background music or something.