Review by Lucas Bell
Just shy of the four year mark since we got the breakout record that is Tekkno, German electronicore fan favourites Electric Callboy are back with a brand new record, and 10 songs (+ 4 remixes) ready to blow fans away. Being one of the resident Callboy fans, I was really excited to dive deep on the record, and take in the new era of the band.
To get the criticisms out of the way early, because this album does have a lot of good and great stuff on it, something I want to acknowledge is the songs themselves. Something I love about diving into a new record is finding the hidden gems. It’s why I’ve grown to love songs by bands I love, that never had shots of being singles.
But with how popular Callboy have become, and the quality output being insane, the fact there were six singles, the ‘Still Waiting’ cover, and the Brawl Stars collab song having been released before the album even dropped, that means only two songs (‘Heartclub’ and ‘The Savior’) are the only “new” songs from the album, if you ignore the four remixes that are added to the end. We don’t get the first taste of new music until we hit the halfway point. And while this might be a personal taste and experience thing for me, it underwhelmed me a little bit to the album.
To get away from the negative though, this album does show Callboy at their very best and most importantly, fun. Both collab songs are super fun, and it feels wild to think that ‘RATATATA’ with BABYMETAL came out over two years ago. The other collab song, ‘Let The Good Times Roll’ features The Offspring on it, and I think the melding of Kevin and Nico’s vocals with Dexter getting some electronic treatment is a really cool sound. I don’t advocate for collabs, unless they make sense. But I hope Callboy do more of them, and we get shiners like these tracks, plus songs in the back catalog like ‘Fuckboi’ and ‘Spaceman’.
Talking more on the singles, opening with the title track ‘Tanzneid’ makes sense. From the opening milliseconds, it sets the tone brilliantly, and bleeding into ‘RATATATA’ is another choice that just makes sense. ‘Hypercharged’ is probably my least favorite track from the album. Despite having been around for some time now, it still hasn’t stuck with me the way other songs have. And ‘Elevator Operator’ is just a slammer. Seeing it live on Good Things 2024 is probably one of the set highlights for me, and I’m excited to see it again in a few weeks when they come back to Australia for the headline tour.
Hitting halfway now, and ‘Heartclub’ being the first new track gives me a bit of breathing room to take in some new sound, and with the banger verses and the incredible chorus, I’m actually shocked this never made it to a single. Something this band is incredible at, is making music you can pull anyone in with. Tracks like ‘Hurrikan’, ‘Spaceman’, and ‘We Got the Moves’. This song feels like one of those songs. A lot of great stuff on this track, and the variety of sounds is what makes it the most interesting track on the record for me.
‘The Way You Are’ is such an insanely cool song. I’ve dubbed it “Hurrikan: The Sequel”, where we get the boy band/soft pop hook, before getting utter deathcore level destruction on the back half. This would have been incredible as a post release single, to lull people in on the record. But I can see why they didn’t want to hold onto it. The video is GOATed as well. And to put this back to back with the ‘Still Waiting’ cover, and hear Callboys studio take on the classic Sum 41 song, which brought drummer Frank Zummo into the fold, chefs kiss to whoever made that call.
The last two tracks on the record are probably the most intriguing tracks to me though. I’ll get to ‘Revery’ in a moment, but I want to talk about the throwback vibes I got from the initial riff of ‘The Savior’. There is almost an 8-bit feel to the guitar choices and electronic sampling in the background, and it feels like it’s been ripped straight out of a video game. I’m not sure if from a vibes standpoint that makes sense, but there are moments where after the chorus I got like, DOOM vibes, but also, Sonic and Mega-Man. It’s so weird, but that’s what it reminded me of.
As for ‘Revery’, I’m not a fan of this being the album closer before the remixes. But in saying that, I don’t actually know what other song I would even replace it with. To a degree, this makes sense. But the album just feels like it’s missing an incredible closer. ‘Revery’ should not have been that song. It’s a good song. Just not to the level of what should close out an album, in my opinion.
Overall, there is good stuff on here. ‘The Way You Are’, ‘Let The Good Times Roll’, and ‘Tanzneid’ show the band are still in full fun mode, while putting out sleepers like ‘Heartclub’. I wanted to like this record more, but with the lack of discovery of new songs, it just feels like a collection of singles with two new songs.
Score – 7/10
Album Highlights: ‘Heartclub’, ‘The Way You Are’, ‘Elevator Operator’.
ELECTRIC CALLBOY TANZNEID WORLD TOUR – AUSTRALIA
TOUR DATES:
FRIDAY 4 SEPTEMBER 2026 – RACA ARENA, PERTH
SUNDAY 6 SEPTEMBER 2026 – AEC ARENA, ADELAIDE
TUESDAY 8 SEPTEMBER 2026 – ROD LAVER ARENA, MELBOURNE
THURSDAY 10 SEPTEMBER 2026 – QUDOS BANK ARENA, SYDNEY
SATURDAY 12 SEPTEMBER 2026 – RIVERSTAGE, BRISBANE
Tickets from www.destroyalllines.com
