New Jersey’s Cyborg Amok returns with “Pins & Needles,” an enthralling album galvanized by remarkable collaborations and intricate rhythms wrapped in an ethereal ambience. The father-son duo, Greg and Brydon Bullock, have teamed up with the talented Mark Gemini Thwaite—known for his guitar work with luminaries like Peter Murphy and Gary Numan—and the formidable Emilio Zef China, whose bass contributions have bolstered the sound of Psychic TV and Jonathan Davis. Together, this dynamic lineup creates an album that pulses with both urgency and allure, inviting listeners into its mesmerizing soundscape.
The twelve-track sojourn threads a hypnotic path through cosmic psychedelia, expansive space-rock textures, and incisive post-punk aggression. The record dives deep into the tangled web of contemporary anxieties—the prickling unease that permeates daily existence—but does so without succumbing to familiar tropes or repetition. Cyborg Amok understands the strength of juxtaposition: tranquil ballads bloom from riotous beats, soothing melodies drift atop jagged guitars, and every song feels like uncharted territory.
“While the songs are dark, because these are dark times and I write about the things I see and feel around me, they don’t follow a formula or all sound alike,” says Greg Bullock. “I am easily bored when I hear bands doing the same thing over and over on a record. I like to take the listener to different places, with something different around every corner. To keep things interesting.”
Indeed, Pins & Needles is a kaleidoscopic ride, exhilarating in its unpredictability.
Opening salvo, Cellophane Grind storms onto the dancefloor, wrapped in neon menace and PVC-clad swagger. Thundering drums and a prowling bassline hold court beneath sharp guitars and shadowy synth whispers. When Animals Have Guns pivots toward surreal aggression, channeling Pixies’ gleeful distortion through Killing Joke’s fierce intensity. Brydon’s drums anchor a track that coils with cryptic menace, while Greg’s vocals deliver an urgent, unsettling message.
Death Becomes The Cloud offers a stark contrast, drifting gracefully through sparse, poignant notes. It’s a restrained elegy, a quiet farewell shrouded in misty reflection. Elsewhere, The Order of Disorder shifts restlessly, a jittery, psychedelic hymn reminiscent of Nuggets-era garage rock colliding with industrial unease. The darkly hypnotic Swarm Front echoes Fad Gadget’s paranoia, guitars slicing through swampy dread like alarms in the gloom.
Catania’s March (Revolution) strides forward with militaristic precision, its gritty vocals and spectral harmonies evoking a future-tinged folk dirge, while Shadow Chaser twists and turns through shadowy disco halls, its bassline mischievous and drums conspiratorial. Diner Song seduces with slow-burning tension, a voyeuristic lullaby that observes and unsettles in equal measure.
The closing tracks maintain this vivid dynamism: Walk The Ember Field marches solemnly toward closure, its rhythmic pulse echoing ritualistic finality. Meanwhile, Why Not showcases Brydon taking vocal lead, propelled by David Baron’s deft synth production and the intricate interplay of Thwaite and China’s guitar-bass synergy, encapsulating the album’s collective creative energy.
Pins & Needles is Cyborg Amok at their most expansive and exhilarating, a potent blend of darkness and beauty that resonates deeply, leaving each listener with something uniquely personal. An album crafted for the restless souls navigating modern life’s complexities—it pulses, pricks, and captivates.
Listen to Pins & Needles below, and order the album here:
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