June 30, 2022 - Mainframe Audio
The Cool Ones are back. Or they never really left. This has been a year of Two Shell for Two Shell, from their archetype-forming ꫀꪻꫀ᥅ꪀꪖꪶᦓꫀꫀᦔ project, to the Boiler Room set they did but didn’t do. Icons - EP continues the duo’s sonic journey. More so than previous work, this project feels like a statement for the duo, with non-existent stakes feeling slightly existent and the invisible bar just a little higher than it never was.
The music here exists in duality, a cyborgetic combination. One part metallic, tinny, hardline structure. Six parts fungal growth, biological anomalies spreading rampant and sprouting new and terrifying blossoms. The intersection between the two is the strength here, one couldn’t exist without the other. The only things that could maybe not exist are the voice snippets courtesy of Ellen McLain aka GLaDOS, but that is a personal desire that wavers with every other listen.
Two Shell’s approach to music feels irreverent, glazing over genre and blazing past convention without a second glance. The back-cover blurb on the EP sums it up nicely: “the big beats and blacklight-ready synths of Icons [is] an exercise in ‘90s nostalgia—the soundtrack to historically accurate raves made by modern hermits who watched them on YouTube.” But at the same time, it feels immensely precious to the pair, an obsession with the tangibility of the medium. Indeed, Two Shell are digital hermits pouring over hours of music culture over spans of time, carefully responding to the emotions and feelings and desires that spring forth from strong interest and reverence. The opposite of irreverence. Another duality.
Music isn’t the only mystic well the duo has tapped however. Apart from GLaDOS/McLain sentiments, bits and pieces of other video games have been added to the mix, harkening back to a simpler time of disk drives and blowing on cartridges. Shimmery PlayStation dreams float freely on ‘Dust’ and parts of ‘Memory.’ Previously released ‘Pods’ makes an appearance here, a gritty number with thoughts of the big stage and big speakers and big lights.
‘Mainframe’ and ‘Ghosts’ bookend the project, the former being a bit of an outlier, as weird as that sounds on a Two Shell Thing. ‘Ghosts’ acts as a refresh, a new OS boot, the thing mentioned earlier about the stakes and the bar. It builds anticipation, not only for the rest of the EP, but for what’s next. The beyond. But back to ‘Mainframe.’ The manic energy persistent in the rest of the project is tamed by an anthemic beat. Less tamed and more made to submit. All the elements are here, the synths, the vocal chops, the gritty underbelly, but they are layered and organized in a way that feels meaningful on a higher level. It’s a statement piece. It’s time.🍍