- Breakcore pop with punk influences, landing on Nicola Kazimir's new label.
- Before turning into the digital hardcore band they are today, Machine Girl started out as the solo electronic music project of Matt Stephenson. While his original love for over-the-top Japanese media and horror B-movies remains intact, Machine Girl's original music was more like breakcore with juke elements, instead of the punk-infused sound they're known for now. The band has made attempts to return to those roots with a handful of releases—from 2015's Gemini to 2020's RePorpoised Phantasies—but they haven't quite figured out how to fully blend the punk into the electronic until this latest EP, SUPER FREQ, which puts Stephenson's raw vocals over hectic beats that you might hear coming out of a '90s arcade game—and actually soundtracks a new manga a new manga created by Nicola Kazimir, written by Dai Sato (Cowboy Bebop, Ghost In The Shell SAC) and illustrated by goodnewsforbadguys.
The opener "Black Glass" is a slippery breakbeat track that draws the listener in with a serene harp intro before complementing it with surprisingly sweet vocals and bouncy slap bass. What follows are two minutes that fly by at lightspeed, with lo-fi synths and orchestral hits that are generally uncommon in digital hardcore but fit the flamboyant mix of sounds here. The EP turns down the heat with the synth disco anthem "Dance in the Fire," but makes up for the lost intensity with a breakbeat bridge. The instrumental closer "Big Time FREQ" spreads a sparse melody thin over five minutes, which doesn't fully develop until a droning synth saturates the atmosphere in the outro. It's an inoffensive ending to an otherwise exhilarating EP that blends blistering breaks with punk vocals in an approachable, glossy package.
Tracklist01. Black Glass
02. Dance In The Fire
03. Big Time FREQ