PsychoWarrior: MG Ultra X is Machine Girl at their absolute best.
PsychoWarrior: MG Ultra X is the first release from Machine Girl following the introduction of the band’s third official member and new guitarist Lucy Capulti at the end of last year. The album serves as a pseudo-sequel to the band’s critically acclaimed 2024 album MG Ultra, and completely lives up to the expectations inherent with following up such a quality album. With the addition of a guitarist to the group, the album takes influences from rock, grunge, and metal while still retaining the more glitchy electronic punk identity of the band’s previous projects, creating a unique sound that is both intense and captivating.
Thriving on variety, this album moves through a wide range of genres and moods without ever lingering too long. “Dual Wield” is the most light-hearted song on the album, comprised of a rapid electronic melody backed by a poppy drum loop. My personal favorite song, “Phantom Doom”, captures a melancholic atmosphere with a bittersweet chord progression. The quiet and wistful outro of “Phantom Doom” leads directly into the shrill wails and heavy percussion of “Dread Architect,” whose unrelenting sound creates an almost anxiety-inducing atmosphere. PsychoWarrior’s variety is one of its greatest strengths, making the album easy to return to and replay from start to finish.
The project’s range, alongside the wonderfully scratchy vocals of Matt Stephenson weaves a story of cyberpunk-esque resistance against corporate interests, control, and easy conveniences. The shift in direction toward rock and metal influences works massively to the album’s benefit, creating an enjoyable listen while also helping it stand out from the Machine Girl projects that came before it.
Despite appearing nonsensical at first, the lyrics of the album hide a surprising amount of depth, criticizing corporate adoption of AI and the hollowing out of online spaces for profit, while also focusing on internal struggles against resignation within a hostile new normal. To me, this album is the perfect encapsulation of what modern punk music should be. Every song on PsychoWarrior manages to perfectly tap into the malaise that the youth of today have regarding current society, as their futures are increasingly sold out for the interests of the rich and powerful.
The album’s strongest quality is undoubtedly its incredible production, which provides more of Machine Girl’s iconic, intense soundscapes rife with harsh electronic noises and erratic percussion, as well as euphoric yet unorthodox melodies. The sound design is unapologetically chaotic and overwhelming, but the harshness of the music works well in tandem with the lyrics to sell the oppressive yet hopeful vision of the album.
As a huge fan of Machine Girl and their music, PsychoWarrior: MG Ultra X stands out to me as easily one of their strongest collections of music, firmly up there with Neon White and The Ugly Art, and is my favorite album from this year. I love the band’s new direction, and I think they’ve brought new life into their music. PsychoWarrior: MG Ultra X earns a solid 9/10 from me, and I’m excited to see Machine Girl continue to grow and evolve as they move forward.
Hi, my name is David Koskey and I am a Junior studying Civil Engineering. My music tastes lie all over the place but my favorite album of all time is Daft Punk's Discovery.
