badHaircut- 1% battery (2021)

I'm under a lot of pressure here, T H U R S T O N. So as the second major release from a virtual artist this year, I kinda had to review this one, as I plan to with all the others. So here we have badHaircut, fronted by the robot, No The Robot. Over the course of the past year, I was really eager to see if there would be a bigger release under the badHaircut name, and while this is an EP, it's just a compilation piece. When this dropped, there really weren't any new songs, so maybe just hearing them in the order they came in would make a better listening experience, and while that is true to an extent, let's look at the entire thing as a whole.

Track 1: Elevator Music

Starting off strong with a banger. I love the instant hook it has at the beginning, almost reassuring you that you made a good choice by clicking play on this, although the ear popping noise at the exact begging I wasn't a fan of. I would say that this song runs a bit on the short end, however, it's called "elevator music" so at least the title fits. It's a good opener and I think as a stand alone track, the replay factor is high.

Track 2: Pixie Cut

For me, this is one of the weaker cuts here. It's not a bad song, it's just that I don't find myself coming back to this one.

Track 3: Glowhawk

One of the more exciting and interesting cuts on here, I actually really like this track, it's a nice change in pace for the album and I love how you can tell there was so much love put into this one. Might be one of my favourites, this is just a straight banger.

Track 4: breather

A very breif moment, a little bit too brief for my liking, but a good palette cleanser for what is to come.

Track 5: Unplug

Now to keep the surprise factor of the project, my first time listening to this was on here. The lyrics are a bit shallow but you can tell that was the point. I love how this song is self-aware of itself as well and in return we get a few tongue-in-cheek lyrics about how we're all addicted to phones... and while that may be true, it's a bit of a strange song to sort of put on shuffle. The irony of a robot telling you to stop using electronic devices is a bit funny to me, but when it is put in this way, the message could come off as powerful to some people.

Track 6: Horizons

I found this a bit weird to end things off with a cover, however, it is closing track material. It's pretty much a grand way to end off the project. I do like how unlike the original, time is not wasted on here, making a shorter track that hits much harder... because there is like an actual hook here. I do like how the song is changed up enough to the point where it is almost 2 different songs.

Overall, a pretty solid compilation/EP. I have enjoyed it a lot and I can see myself coming back to this project sometime down the line. It's short, it's sweet but a nice little batch of songs to listen to if you're into funk and electronic music as a whole. I would like to point out that there were a few moments where No almost drowns in his influences, most specifically TWRP and... *ahem* Daft Punk, however, this seems like just the beginning in a long road of great badHaircut material, and I would like to say that I am excited to see where that road goes in the future.

6/10