Content warning for depictions of mental illness and self-harm.
If you’ve been following the online music scene since 2012 at the earliest, with “WLFGRL” being released two years later when Machine Girl was still just a solo act, the New York experimental electronic duo would likely not need an introduction. The band’s insane meshing of sometimes grating but addictive electronic sounds, intense percussion inspired by a cocktail of electronic-adjacent subgenres and nihilistic lyrics that are usually screamed makes for music that is jarring to most who aren’t too deep into the rabbit hole of experimental music. Regardless, it’s irrefutably unique and innovative. For those who aren’t scared by experimental music, you’re in for a treat with Machine Girl’s “MG Ultra” as they continue to refine their sound.
The lead single and introductory track, “Until I Die,” starts the album off strongly and cinematically. The opening lyric of the song and the album is “My dreams are all I have while reality’s collapsing,” which paints a bleak picture of either one’s dilapidating mental health turning into psychosis, a crumbling society and world or a combination of the two. Still, the chorus is more hopeful as the protagonist is “fighting to survive” and won’t give up until he’s dead. This allows one’s imagination to think up action scenes that would be appropriate for the bombastic production. The breakdown of the first verse near the end of the song is addictive to listen to and rewarding to get to on subsequent listens.
The beginning of “Nu Nu Meta Phenomena” is like a heavier version of electro-jazz artist Hakushi Hasegawa’s “Scary Point.” The hi-hat rolls before the beat drops are enthralling to listen to. The bass compliments the post-apocalyptic and surreal lyrics which are somewhat based on our reality. “Freaking out inside but I still speak soft” is a lyric that may resonate with a lot of people with mental illnesses such as anxiety, depression and psychosis as Machine Girl tends to depict mental illness in a decadent manner.
The part of “Sick!!!” where Matt Stephenson, the vocalist and producer, chants, “There is no cure, there is no purpose, there is no hope, there is no service” is hypnotizing. The lyrics are depressing and edgy, which are typical for Machine Girl.
“Just Because You Can” does a better job at being anti-drug than Nancy Reagan, not by saying “no”, but by depicting what the purpose and effects of taking recreational drugs are with the introspective lyrics describing how using can turn “never-ending pain into momentary bliss.” Matt likens self-harming to a drug as well with a lyric about a razor. The outro sounds like something an experimental hip-hop producer could sample.
“Half Asleep” is a peaceful interlude for “MG Ultra” that could serve as a time to breathe from all the high-energy and overwhelming music sequenced before it.
“Motherfather” is, oddly enough, a directly happy and saccharine-sounding Machine Girl song despite the lyrics delving into generational trauma and a disconnect between parents and their son. “I’m a cycle killer, not a psycho killer like you want” is such a witty way to describe breaking cycles in generational trauma. The chorus’ heaviness with the booming percussion compared to the light and bright verses is cathartic to listen to, and the breakdown of the chorus at the end of the song is reminiscent of the breakdown in pop duo Magdalena Bay’s “Watching TV.”
“Ass2Mars” is pretty cryptic as to what it’s about beyond going to Mars. Maybe it’s a satirical commentary on how some want to abandon Earth and colonize Mars.
“Cicadas” seems jaded in its worldview, using sardonic humor to cope, seen in the in the lyrics “What’s the antidote to global psychosis? Another world war, or the children of the COVID?” and “You can listen to the beast within: start a crypto scam or weed business.” The concept of global psychosis as this album has been depicting is fascinating.
“Grindhouse” is like Generation Z’s “Closer” by industrial band Nine Inch Nails in a way with its dynamic of sexual deviancy and sadomasochism, though the similarities are mostly surface-level. In “Motherfather,” Matt quips that he isn’t a pillar of salt, but in this song, he wants to turn to salt, tying into the pillar of salt’s symbolism in the Book of Genesis story of Sodom and Gomorrah and their own destruction largely in part due to sexual deviancy. The production is pretty trance-like. Perhaps goth clubs would love this song.
“Schizodipshit” has Matt boldly claiming his mental illness by using a derogatory term to refer to himself. The lyric “Maybe I’m a little sick, but I’m not a victim” is a stern reminder to empower the mentally ill instead of boxing them to be seen in an unfair perspective. The bass is similar to that of “The Perfect Drug” by Nine Inch Nails.
“Psychic Attack” is the protagonist fully succumbing to his mental illness, claiming that people are going to have their heads explode and that he has a third eye. The instrumental is simply incredible and hard to do justice in words. The song very abruptly ends, which is baffling and unsatisfying.
As someone with psychosis, I feel comforted by this fucked up, toxic and bleak album about living with mental illness and not caring about the consequences of societal expectations. It’s unfortunate that the depiction of mental illness is tied to violence as the mentally ill are typically not violent, but I suppose the lyrics are a form of sublimation and catharsis. The most beautiful thoughts are beside the darkest after all.
Rating: 4.5/5