Clicks - Glitch Machine

Before you even start to listen to Clicks, you should understand that this Polish trio is full of nothing but humor and good, minimal EBM dance beats. For example, one of their 2012 releases was titled ALL THE SONGS THAT WERE SUPPOSED TO BE ON AN ALBUM BUT NO LABEL WAS INTERESTED AND THEN I THOUGHT ABOUT RELEASING ONLY SINGLES BUT I GOT PISSED OFF AND DECIDED TO RELEASE IT LIKE THIS. ENJOY. Yea, I'm not joking about that. That entire, long winded and hyperlinked album title is what they decided to call one of their earliest releases. Thankfully, we did not get another lengthy, passive-aggressive album thanks to Dependent Records signing the band. 

Clicks consists of Kr-Lik (whose more noted for his involvement in the electro-industrial band Controlled Collapse), Tomek, and Lukasz. Together, all three are able to create a cyberpunk inspired, comic, and back to roots EBM dance album that will reminisce a cross of Nitzer Ebb and Daft Punk. 

The vocals are similar to Kr-Lik's work with Controlled Collapse, only this time there are slight digital effects on the vocals. That's not to say that he doesn't get a little more aggressive from time to time; for example, 'Take Control' has him distort his cords a little with a shout. 

Musically, the album is simply awesome. As I said before, mixing Nitzer Ebb and Daft Punk is already a good idea, but hearing that thought carried out is even more wicked. I mainly found myself most addicted to the mid-section of the album. 'Fuckit' is a great song where Clicks puts glitch in Glitch Machine. As the minimal but infectious EBM rhythm comes to an end, Clicks really do say, "Fuck it," and start cutting and chopping out beats and electronics. It was weird, but somehow came out pretty good. 

I thought that Clicks were going to throw a soft, 80s rock song at me when 'This Is Jeopardy' came along, as the guitar work present could easily be mistaken as the intro grind to any number of famous rock songs from that era. That's soon put to rest as the electronics pour in. Though the title of the next song suggests it would be a huge club smasher, 'Party Hard' is a pretty drive-through-the-night-in-the-city kind of song. It's instrumental (aside from extremely robotic and processed vocals that are used more or less as another rhythm), lasts a perfect amount of time, and is by far my favorite song on the entire album. 

The way 'Again And Again (Please Stop)' was presented with constantly down turning synths made me feel as if the song was a deconstruction and parody of modern day dance music. The title supports that theory, as does the humor that Clicks should become known for. 

Clicks is a pretty nifty band and transcends a lot of standards I've seen come from the dark electronic scene. Their sound is refreshing, their humor is needed, and their persistence is well noted. Let's hope they stay signed though, that way passive-aggressive album titles won't make a comeback. 
Mar 21 2016