Replaced By Robots - The Experiment
Indie rock outfit Replaced by Robots has released their powerful debut mini-album 'The Experiment', along with three fun and slick colorburst videos for 'All The Lonely Nights', 'Are We Falling in Love or Am I Just Losing My Mind' and 'The Laboratory'. For this record, they worked with legendary producer Paul Q.Kolderie (Pixies, Dinosaur Jr, Throwing Muses, Radiohead) and Josh Hager (Devo, The Elevator Drops), with mastering by Terry Palmer.
Made up of Goolkasian, Heather Joy Morgan and Adam Wade, the band formed as a sound and vision laboratory, where they search through the wreckage and noise of modern life to find unusual combinations and create moments of beauty.
Flashback to 2024: Goolkasian (The Elevator Drops, The Texas Governor, Lovesick) and Heather Joy Morgan initially met up with stellar guitarist Adam Wade (Funeral Party, The Uprisers) at a secret Chameleons UK show in their living room, a fateful meeting that led to the musical chemistry we see here in Replaced by Robots.
"We got to work with Paul Q. Kolderie, who instinctively did a lot of weird things. He pushed the bass and guitars to the max, giving this record an undeniably glam-era feel and a rhythmic pulse, driving songs like 'All The Lonely Nights'," says Goolkasian.
"We also worked with producer and creative compatriot Josh Hager, who produced 'Are We Falling in Love or Am I Just Losing my Mind?', recalling the Buzzcocks, T-Rex and a million other things but is still, defiantly, its own bird due to the electric and impassioned vocal delivery".
This album indeed feels like a fun experiment, relishing their stature as obsolete bohemians, experimenting and combining our influences until we find something unique and inspiring. The band is clearly enjoying following the creative spirit wherever it leads, from the first surf-inspired drumbeats of 'The Laboratory' to the instantly catchy 3-part vocal harmonies in 'All The Lonely Nights' to the wall of noise on the final track 'Since You Broke My Ouija Board'. It's glam and it's glorious.
"'Laboratory' kicks off with the jangle of a raucous surf guitar and percussive vocals that form a curious rhythm and intermittent wail. It's going to be some kind of party. 'All the Lonely Nights' is an exuberant commercial advert in sparky 3-part harmony for the ennui and sorrow that plagues you up to the very instant that you make a magical connection with the right person. 'The Air of Uncertainty' is an instrumental interlude, a pause to welcome the spirits," says Goolkasian.
Heather Joy Morgan adds, "'Since you Broke My Ouija Board' is a spontaneous expression of grief and longing to connect, for Goolkasian broke my antique oujia board, hurling my spirit telephone into oblivion. And I can't talk to ghosts no more. 'Are we Falling in Love or Am I Just Losing My Mind?' is about seeking true love in the dystopian night, a modern world with uncanny robots and fake people. Is it live or is it Memorex?"
No stranger to chaos, Goolkasian formed the notorious prankster trio The Elevator Drops (Arista / Timebomb) in Boston with Garvy J (Devo) & Fitts. Their songs 'Elevator to Heaven' and 'Beautiful Junkie' earned them touring slots with Echo & The Bunnymen, Garbage and Pulp. Leaving that behind in 1999, the early 2000’s Goolkasian brought new inspiration with Goolkasian now recording as The Texas Governor and touring with pals Future Islands. In the mid-2000’s, Goolkasian & Morgan teamed up with recording engineer Terry Palmer to create “a masterful dream-pop version” of their classic tune 'Beach Foam', inadvertently forming the trio Lovesick.
Hailing from Berlin via the NJ Turnpike, Heather Joy Morgan has a Masters degree in painting from Yale. A compelling wraith with visual flair, she classes up the joint, both on stage and in video. From the pyres of the Funeral Party and The Uprisers, Adam Wade has always been a goth-punk at heart. His guitar is always too loud and that is how it will remain!
'The Experiment' is out now, available from fine music platforms, including Spotify, Apple Music and directly from the artist via Bandcamp.