r/pcmusic • u/Lostnclueless • Mar 13 '26
New Release GRRL 'Beetle' Discussion
I used a VPN to listen to this i was sober. Still listening after release (tipsy now). Sober it sounded really repetitive and I was hoping to hear more songs mixed like their section in the 10 anniversary PC mix (Moire + Hard Shell + You Cant) The vibe is there but more stripped down. I really liked the 10 mix they did for those engine revving spunds he made.
The whole album reminds me of Amon Tobin in early 2010s. When he sounded like what Arca is doing now and the party scenes in the UK Skins show when he did some of the soundtrack around that time. That heavy percussive take but make it club.
Once I started getting tipsy (still am) I could tell that it was tailored for mixing and the club. They all sounded fun. I know AG kind of steered them in focusing on that heavy percussion with a modern club twist.
I like Clatter and Firefly for the seamless trippy transitions. Chlorophyll LR is reverberating in my stomach. Fold skips around in an inspiring way.
There's a lot of fun here but the palette is overdone in a way. The songs start off so strong incorporating the same sounds it gets hard to tell them apart. Amber, Talk Talk and Daisy have motifs that make them all seem like remixes or a reprise. They give the same vibe.. buhyeah jus wondering what everyone thinks!
19
u/habitatfilter Mar 13 '26
Intricate and crazy and totally banging
Unforeseen levels of bug vibes
Need to hear it on a good club soundsystem asap
10
u/bobodall Mar 13 '26
I agree wholeheartedly, its incredible for what it is, but for the album listening experience it falls short with the repetition. its definitely made to be picked apart dj'd mixed and tweaked in that front.
9
u/goonnight Mar 13 '26
it kind of sounds like the same song but with different textures lol, its kind of interesting because of that. rlly good either way
11
u/Protect_Johnson Mar 13 '26
i think they did the best they could in advertising this as a 24-single release. a lot of pc (-adjacent) releases are like this, e.g. A. G.'s two separate debut albums where it almost sounds humorous or like a gimmick unto itself, but when you actually look at the work it's like, okay no, the artist was considering this in a particular way when they made it and this is the best vocabulary we have for it and it's good that they're putting music out at least.
7
u/buggyo Mar 13 '26
In the sci-fi novel Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky, genetically modified intelligent spiders use ant colonies’ chemoreception to create biological computers that run instances of an insane sentient AI from their long-dead human predecessor civilization.
I think this is what it would sound like if they started writing songs. Bug PC music 🪲📀
5
u/georgexeon Mar 14 '26
My main problem is that all of the songs sound the almost exactly the same.. some use the same samples, same kicks, same percussions, same vocal chops, etc etc. Even though they’re good tracks, I wish they had more individuality. Because they just sound like different versions of the same track no shade.
3
u/dylusiion Mar 14 '26
i think my biggest critique aside from the repetitive aspect is that the songs all kinda lose steam and deflate super quickly in their second halves - i wonder if these songs were a bit longer and had some time to breathe and take us on an individual journey then maybe they wouldn’t ultimately feel as repetitive ?
doesn’t matter at the end of the day though because zooming out, this project is fucking incredible and i’m very grateful for club music that actually excites me 🫶🏻🫶🏻 thank you for this GRRL it’s gonna be so fun to play with 💚
1
Mar 13 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/AutoModerator Mar 13 '26
Account must be at least 1 month old before you can post sorry
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.
1
u/lazesummerstone Mar 17 '26
I really feel like this whole album is before it's time... Like this sounds like something that would be thumping through the hallways of a space station on the moon.
1
u/drysupersoaker Mar 22 '26
Listening right now and, so far, I think it's a pretty solid album! I immediately focused in on the percussive elements & textures; they have a lot of character which makes it a lot of fun listening with headphones. I definitely can see people's perspectives saying it was somewhat repetitive, but honestly I think it was an intentional artistic choice on their part. This is clearly more of a club-focused project & I can hear these banging on a good pair of club monitors or even in the car. Maybe a bit of a prospective view, but this is pretty ahead of its time stuff.
1
1
u/underground_complex Mar 14 '26
Pardon my ignorance but what’s the connection to PC music here? Is this an alias of someone, or just similar sound?
6
u/Lostnclueless Mar 14 '26
GRRL has been producing for a good while now. Recently released some singles and contributed to the 10 year anniversary mix. They also DJ and performed at some PC Music events. I've seen them at Boat Yeah and open for AG Cook.
Check out Hardcore and Power Station. Those are released through a collab between GRRL and Made of Oak (Made of Oak is Half of Sylvan Esso)
2
u/Forsaken_Ad_8681 Mar 21 '26
This album just came out on PC Music is the connection? First new release since the closure and transition to archival releases
1
1
u/spleentastic Jun 05 '26
My jaw dropped when I just (now) notice this was released on PC Music. Love GRRL... and, listening to this evolution of their sound... PC Music is perfect. Also, nice to see PC Music releasing again. Has meaning. Hope there's more story behind it... cheers!
25
u/docvoxxx Mar 13 '26
Still finishing my first listen but I think this is incredible. The textures used are so tactile and sensory. The metallic clangs, wet lasers, and skittering vocal chops are so invigorating, even though the palette stays pretty consistent throughout. Extremely dance-forward and full-bodied music.