Just as we were starting to come out of the pandemic, Chicago’s Pixel Grip emerged from the weird state we were all in and gave us Arena – a wild record of dark wave, cold wave, techno, industrial grind, noise rock, and music designed to get us back into the groove of partying and screwing.
I mean, the album opens with throbbing bass and a song called “ALPHAPUSSY.” It’s a hot industrial track that grabs you by the throat (and crotch) and doesn’t let go for over three minutes. It picks up where Lords of Acid‘s “Pussy” left off. “Club Mania” thumps and bumps to keep the dance floor jumping. “Snap your neck, just to watch me walk up in the place,” says singer Rita Lukea – taking command of the club and your eardrums. “Take a break like a Kit-Kat candy bar,” she advises. You should probably take her up on it.
“Ruby” slides into sultry and spooky sounds, setting up perhaps a sexy liaison or a deadly encounter – your choice. The rolling synths (courtesy of Jonathan Freund and Tyler Ommen) of “Pursuit” sound great, and “Play Noble” is a neat switch for the band – briefly dabbling with electro-pop that mixes with dark synths in a cool combination as Lukea suggests, “Let’s stay up ’til the morning. This is your moment.” I hope you’re hydrated, not only for that invitation, but also for the following track, “Demon Chaser” (with guest vocals from MONÄ€E), which is nothing short of a hot, pulsing make-out track.
Just go ahead and put “Dancing on Your Grave” on both your Halloween and bedroom playlists. You’ll thank me and Pixel Grip later. The growling sound of it is like a panther circling you in the parking lot of a strip club while a murder of crows watches from the roof.
“Alibi” is brighter than most of the album’s tracks, and is a nice change because it shows off Lukea’s voice and how she can easily switch to lovely electro pop vocal stylings with seemingly no effort. They almost go full-synthwave on the closing track, “Double Vision,” which is another good showcase for Lukea’s voice and gives Freund and Ommen a great chance to show their love of Giorgio Moroder.
This whole record is dynamite. Get into this arena as soon as you can. You’ll like it there.
Keep your mind open.
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