EP: Tokky Horror – ‘I Found The Answers and Now I Want More’

If you love The Prodigy’s ‘Firestarter’, Tokky Horror’s latest EP I Found the Answers and Now I Want More is the exhilarating debut you need to hear. Hailing from Liverpool, London and Manchester, the virtual hardcore collective made up of Zee Davine, Ava Akira and Mollie Rush layer growling guitars with EDM. The result? A cyber goth masterpiece that hits you as hard as MDMA.

Kicking wormholes through genres, the queercore group mix rave and rock to produce a record that emulates the same intense and futuristic energy of The Matrix. This is the kind of special EP you need to listen to through both earphones to fully appreciate.

Dragging us into a new dimension is the brazen, pulse-racing opening track ‘Girlracer’, which launches listeners into punk-infused drum and bass. Lyrically tearing apart the pop culture bond between masculinity and fast cars, the song revs its engine angrily at the expulsion of women from hyper-masculine spaces, which Davine notes often includes “dance culture itself.”

The beats on ‘Simulate Me’ pulse at levels that could match a Love Honey vibrator. Laced with laser synth sounds and erotic imperatives like “touch me / love me”, the song frankly takes on the topic of virtual love and dating, particularly fitting for the pandemic restriction era we are living in. Next up is ‘Godliness’, which stands out against the others and offers a slightly mellower take on electronic rock. As Davine says, “I think we show our more expansive side on ‘Godliness’…it’s us letting our guard down a bit for something more genuine.”

With croaking, shrieking vocals and distorted heavy guitar sounds, ‘Eden on Acid’ is probably the most punk-sounding song of the EP (and my favourite track too.) It’s only one and half minutes long, yet has an edge and intensity to it that reminds me of the intro of My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Only Shallow’. Finishing with ‘Sleeper’, Tokky Horror strips the opening riff from The Beastie Boys ‘Sabotage’ and creates an exhilarating build-up to a hypnotic refrain. A strong end to an EP that shows off the trio’s instrumental momentum and individuality.

Listen to Tokky Horror’s new EP, released via Alcopop! Records, here.

Follow Tokky Horror on bandcamp, Spotify, Twitter, Instagram & Facebook

Jay Mitra
@punkofcolour