100 gecs

Submission 20,139

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About

100 gecs is an experimental electronic music duo from St. Louis, Missouri featuring Dylan Brady and Laura Les. The group has proven divisive, simultaneously drawing buzz for its abrasive blend of pop and experimental electronica while drawing mockery for the same reason.

History

Brady and Les met at a party in St. Louis in 2012.^[1] On July 15th, 2016, they released their first EP, 100 gecs (shown below).^[2]

laura les · 100 gecs – 100 gecs

The duo didn't release music again until 2019, when they released their full-length debut 1000 gecs.^[3] On June 13th, 2019, they released a music video for their song "money machine," gaining over 2 million views on YouTube (shown below). They found continued success after the album's release, touring in support of Brockhampton. The group is signed to Dog Show Records.

Reception

1000 gecs received positive reviews from critics, netting a 7.4 from Pitchfork.^[3] Critics praised the group's experimental style and wide variety of influences, which range from experimental artists like John Zorn to groups like 3OH!3 and PC Music artists.^[1] They have been covered by Rolling Stone,^[4] The New York Times,^[5] the L.A. Times,^[6] and others.

Online Presence

While critics have been largely positive about the group, 100 gecs has proven more divisive online. The group has a subreddit with over 5,800 subscribers.^[7] The group has also attracted mockery online from people who don't understand their appeal.

quiet02k Thread

Notably, on April 25th, 2020, Twitter user @quiet02k^[8] shared a clip from "money machine," gaining over 5,200 retweets and 33,000 likes. The clip has been viewed over 2.8 million times (shown below).

The clip was many users first exposure to the group, and led to a wave of jokes about the group. User @AdamFriedland^[9] joked, "Why not something nice like Sinatra?", gaining over 540 retweets and 9,000 likes (shown below, left). User @ajbabyboi^[10] wrote, "THIS is what people have been telling me to listen to for months?", gaining over 720 retweets and 13,000 likes (shown below, right).

Others defended the group as Twitter users degraded them. Left At London wrote^[11] that the group was not doing anything "ironically," saying their tastes were sincere (shown below, left). User @urvillageidiot^[12] joked "not liking all the 100 gecs hate i’m seeing on the timeline.. how many gecs do you have? probably 0 gecs. seems to me like someone is jealous," gaining over 240 retweets and 1,600 likes (shown below, right).