The Cloned and Upgraded, Insert Soul Here by Religio Bambini exists in that domain, which I recall as a mix of film score music, mixed with whatever you place on the radio at the end of the day, when you are still awake, but are not exactly doing anything. The production is dense. Synths stacked one upon the other, pulled-out edges, much of it, without attempting to make itself epic. Cinematic, of course, but in an unobtrusive manner. Psychedelic hip-hop ran through, dark electronic underneath. I do not believe it would like to remain in a single genre and it does not. That segment was clear even by that time.
This sense of determination which is sort of just stated comes in with Bossy Pants. Not acted out. The power is present, but contained, as though it were aware of where it is headed and does not require demonstrating it. Crypto Kids takes a less-serious approach to its own concepts, digital wealth, generational stuff, which it does not transform into a speech, which is what makes it stick with me. It just sits in the lyrics. Oh Those Sexy Stilettos is more willing to lean towards that cyberpunk aspect that people keep bringing up. Varmint, and there is silt in the stuff. Swagger at night, perhaps, but the production does not allow it to be very smooth.
The lyrics are quite expressive and not smoothed out. The processing of the person behind can be heard, which is more important than polish in this case. Certain tunes can be remembered immediately. The rest begin to violet together on the initial encounter, which was the case then. It is covered with the sci-fi aesthetic of neon cities, dystopian arenas, that sort of imagery, but what I recall lingered with me was the human aspect beneath it. Love, loss, identity, survival. Conventional subjects, only spun through a bit of distortion.
The title remains provocative. Replicated and Modified, Fill in Soul. How is it to be left to be human when all can be duplicated. The album contains this question, which is never answered. It simply is, in the sound construction, the sawed-off synths, the hard edges embedded in every song. I recall glancing where he is located Knoxville and being surprised. It is somehow more metropolitan than that. I was sitting at my desk when I observed that, the music was playing and I did not turn it off.
