''1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clues'' (stylized as ''1000 gecs and the Tree of Clues'') is the debut

remix album A remix album is an album consisting of remixes or rerecorded versions of an artist's earlier released material. The first act who employed the format was American singer-songwriter Harry Nilsson (''Aerial Pandemonium Ballet'', 1971). As of 2007 ...

by American

experimental music Experimental music is a general label for any music or music genre that pushes existing boundaries and genre definitions. Experimental compositional practice is defined broadly by exploratory sensibilities radically opposed to, and questioning of, ...

duo

100 gecs 100 Gecs (stylized in all lowercase) are an American hyperpop duo formed in 2015 that consists of Dylan Brady and Laura Les. They self-released their debut album, '' 1000 Gecs'', in 2019 to critical acclaim, followed by a "companion" remix alb ...

, released on July 10, 2020, by Dog Show Records, Big Beat Records and

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. It features remixed and reworked versions of songs from their debut studio album '' 1000 Gecs'' (2019), as well as live performances and previously unreleased songs which were played at their Mine Gala 2019 set. The album features collaborations with numerous acts, such as

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is an English singer and songwriter. Born in Cambridge and raised in Start Hill, Essex, she began posting songs on Myspace in 2008, which led to her discovery ...

Kero Kero Bonito Kero Kero Bonito (KKB) are a British indie pop band formed in South London in 2011. The band consists of vocalist Sarah Midori Perry and producers and multi-instrumentalists Gus Lobban and Jamie Bulled. Their musical style consists of indie po ...

Rico Nasty Maria-Cecilia Simone Kelly (born May 7, 1997), known professionally as Rico Nasty, is an American rapper, singer, and songwriter from Maryland. She rose to prominence in 2018 with singles such as "Smack a Bitch" and "Poppin". While in high schoo ...

Fall Out Boy Fall Out Boy is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, in 2001. The band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Patrick Stump, bassist Pete Wentz, lead guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer A ...

Tommy Cash Tommy Cash (born April 5, 1940) is an American musician, singer, and songwriter. His elder brother was Johnny Cash. Biography Cash was born in Dyess, Arkansas, United States, the youngest of four sons and three daughters of Ray and Carrie (Ri ...

Hannah Diamond Hannah Amond (born 20 June 1991), known professionally as Hannah Diamond, is an English singer, songwriter, photographer, and visual artist. She has recorded on A.G. Cook's PC Music label since 2013, beginning with her debut single " Pink and ...

Black Dresses Black Dresses are a Canadian noise pop duo consisting of Ada Rook and Devi McCallion. Their debut album, '' Wasteisolation'', was released independently in 2018. The duo released three additional albums, ''Thank You'' (2019), '' Love and Affecti ...

and

Dorian Electra Dorian Electra Fridkin Gomberg (born 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and performance artist. Their debut studio album, ''Flamboyant'', was released in 2019, followed by their second studio album, ''My Agenda,'' in 2020. Electra is know ...

. The album debuted at number 198 on the US ''

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

'', making it their first entry on the chart.

Background and promotion

Initially, the duo was never planning to release a

, but they were motivated to do so after seeing the remixes others made after they released the stems to ''1000 Gecs''. In late 2019 it was announced that 100 Gecs was working on a remix album, then-titled ''1000 Gecs & Th3 Phant0m M3nac3''. In January 2020, 100 Gecs member

Laura Les Laura Les (born December 2, 1994), previously known as osno1, is an American music producer and singer-songwriter best known for being one half of experimental electronic duo 100 Gecs, alongside Dylan Brady. Early life Laura Les grew up in a s ...

announced that the album would be re-titled, and the new title, ''1000 Gecs & The Tree of Clues'' was announced in February 2020. The album was finally made available for pre-order on July 3, 2020.

Singles

A remix of " Money Machine" by British producer

A. G. Cook Alexander Guy Cook (born 23 August 1990) is an English music producer, singer, songwriter and the head of the UK record label PC Music. Cook released his first solo singles in 2014. He has also collaborated with PC Music artists such as Hannah ...

was released as the album's first single on October 23, 2019 and was described as "a tripped-out

chipmunk Chipmunks are small, striped rodents of the family Sciuridae. Chipmunks are found in North America, with the exception of the Siberian chipmunk which is found primarily in Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Chipmunks may be classified either as ...

emo-trap Emo rap is a fusion genre of hip hop and emo music. Originating in the SoundCloud rap scene in the mid-2010s, the genre fuses characteristics of hip hop music, such as beats and rapping, with the lyrical themes, instrumentals, and vocals commo ...

anthem". A remix of "745 Sticky" by American hip hop group

Injury Reserve Injury Reserve is an American hip hop group formed in 2013 in Tempe, Arizona by rappers Stepa J. Groggs (Jordan Groggs), Ritchie with a T (Nathaniel Ritchie), and producer Parker Corey. History 2013–2014: Career beginnings, ''Depth Chart ...

was released as November 6, 2019. This remix transforms "the original's bubblegummy assault in to a glitchy creep" "

Ringtone (remix) "Ringtone (remix)" is a song by American experimental musical duo 100 Gecs, composed of Dylan Brady and Laura Les, from their remix album ''1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clues'' (2020). The song features vocals from British singer Charli XCX, Ame ...

" was released on February 24, 2020 alongside a "visualizer" music video and features vocals from British singer

, British

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band

, and American rapper

. Charli XCX's verse in particular was praised for its catchiness. "Gec 2 Ü (Remix)" featuring vocals from American singer-songwriter

, was released on April 10, 2020. A music video, filmed in quarantine, followed on April 20, 2020. "Stupid Horse (Remix)" featuring British singer

GFOTY Polly-Louisa Salmon (born 19 July 1990), better known by her stage name GFOTY, an abbreviation of Girlfriend of the Year, is a British pop singer. From 2013 to 2018, she released music through the PC Music label. She now independently releases ...

and DJ Count Baldor was released on May 22, 2020 alongside an animated music video. The remix swaps out the

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

-influenced

guitars The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...

of the original for a "shredder-like

synths A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and f ...

" described as a "

Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...

and Sleigh Bells mashup on the verge of implosion."

Reception

''1000 Gecs and the Tree of Clues'' received critical acclaim. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 81 out of 100 based on 7 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". Ben Jolley of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' praised the album for its "infectious absurdity" and for the diverse array of features, both mainstream and

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground (S ...

, summarising it as "an exhilarating snapshot of pop's alternative future." ''

The Line of Best Fit ''The Line of Best Fit'' is an independent online magazine based in London, concentrating on new music. It publishes independent music reviews, features, interview, and media. Founded by Richard Thane in February 2007 and currently edited by P ...

''s Erin Bashford called it "consistently inconsistent" and "a bit of a difficult listen for those not wholeheartedly throwing themselves into the fray," but concluded that "if you want to venture into the abyss, there's a decent amount to marvel at." Ian Gormely, writing for ''

Exclaim! ''Exclaim!'' is a Canadian music and entertainment publisher based in Toronto, which features in-depth coverage of new music across all genres with a special focus on Canadian and emerging artists. The monthly Exclaim! print magazine publishes 7 ...

'', described the record as "sonic grab bag" but also "a strong rebuke to those who have dismissed the duo as a joke or dilettantes." ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to th ...

'' editor Cat Zhang argued that the remixes make "some of its originals sound like

demos Demos may refer to: Computing * DEMOS, a Soviet Unix-like operating system * DEMOS (ISP), the first internet service provider in the USSR * Demos Commander, an Orthodox File Manager for Unix-like systems * plural for Demo (computer programming) ...

," adding that "the guests skillfully mold the originals into creations of their own, while still preserving some of the songs' initial ideas." The album has been described as "genre-blending" and features elements of experimental electronica,

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

EDM EDM or E-DM may refer to: Music * Electronic dance music * Early Day Miners, American band Science and technology * Electric dipole moment * Electrical discharge machining * Electronic distance measurement *Entry, Descent, and landing demonstrat ...

dubstep Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in South London in the early 2000s. The style emerged as a UK garage offshoot that blended 2-step rhythms and sparse dub production, as well as incorporating elements of broken be ...

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

eurodance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...

industrial Industrial may refer to: Industry * Industrial archaeology, the study of the history of the industry * Industrial engineering, engineering dealing with the optimization of complex industrial processes or systems * Industrial city, a city dominate ...

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...

, R&B,

nu metal Nu metal (sometimes stylized as nü-metal, sometimes called aggro-metal) is a subgenre of that combines elements of heavy metal music with elements of other music genres such as hip hop, alternative rock, funk, industrial, and grunge. Nu met ...

screamo Screamo (also referred to as skramz) is an aggressive subgenre of emo that emerged in the early 1990s and emphasizes "willfully experimental dissonance and dynamics".Jason Heller, "Feast of Reason". ''Denver Westword'', June 20, 2002Access date: ...

bubblegum pop Bubblegum (also called bubblegum pop) is pop music in a catchy and upbeat style that is considered disposable, contrived, or marketed for children and adolescents. The term also refers to a rock and pop subgenre, originating in the United States i ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

, hip hop,

emo Emo is a rock music genre characterized by emotional, often confessional lyrics. It emerged as a style of and hardcore punk from the Washington D.C. hardcore punk scene, where it was known as emotional hardcore or emocore and pioneered b ...

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

pop rap Pop rap (also known as pop hip-hop, hip pop, melodic hip-hop or melodic rap) is a genre of music fusing the rhythm-based lyricism of hip hop music with pop music's preference for melodious vocals and catchy tunes. This genre gained mainstrea ...

, and

Track listing

All song titles stylized in

all lowercase Letter case is the distinction between the letters that are in larger uppercase or capitals (or more formally ''majuscule'') and smaller lowercase (or more formally ''minuscule'') in the written representation of certain languages. The writing ...

Charts

References

{{100 Gecs 2020 remix albums 100 gecs albums Albums produced by A. G. Cook Big Beat Records (American record label) albums Albums produced by Dylan Brady Atlantic Records albums Albums produced by Danny L Harle