By Charlie Maybee
You know you’re in for a wild time when the description of a band’s BandCamp page reads “A Pornstar Gone Wrong,” but that’s just what it is with DICQBEATS; you don’t know exactly what to expect, but the sense of danger is seductive. With the release of their fifth album, titled DICQTATOR, devious mastermind Quentin Pagtakhan continues to push the envelope, which melds experimental electronica with punk and metal influences.
For those who are fans of the weirdness of Adult Swim programs like The Eric Andre Show, this album is absolutely for you. It’s strange, unapologetically obscene, and off-color in humor in a way that will make you laugh and grimace at the same time.
Take the song “Scott hates tiddies,” for example. This song has everything you never asked for but desperately needed. It starts off somewhat coherent, until you hear the titular (pun intended) line come into focus, and before long, the phrase is being yelled in in your face, “SCOTT HATES TIDDIES.”
At some point, there’s a hilarious line where DICQBEATS tells a quick story: “When Scott goes to the grocery store / Sees all the milk in the fridge / 1%, 2%, low-fat, fat-free / And he’s like ‘ew that comes from tiddies a.. a… and I FUCKIN’ HATE TIDDIES.’”
And then if you feel like you hadn’t gotten quite enough of Scott’s aversion to breasts, you get a nice dance break in the next track appropriately titled “Scott REALLY hates tiddies.” This is the kind of music that would make a perfect soundtrack for being caught in a club in the middle of the backrooms, where the DICQTATOR reigns supreme, so let it take you on a magical, albeit disturbing journey over the edge of cliff that happens to be shaped like a DICQ.
And, if the ensuing ear-gasm isn’t enough, fret not! For DICQBEATS is on tour now! They still have remaining dates in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York before making their way back to the DMV. For our readers based in the local area, you can catch these sick tracks live at Epicure Café on Saturday, February 26, so be sure to mark your calendars – you do not want to upset the DICQTATOR.
DICQTATOR is available on major streaming platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and BandCamp. Follow our Alchemical Weekly Spotify Playlist for more great music featured on the site.
Charlie Maybee is a dancer, musician, educator, and writer based in Charleston, South Carolina who currently teaches with the Dance Program at the College of Charleston. His primary work as an artist is with his performing collective, Polymath Performance Project, through which he makes interdisciplinary performance art that centers tap dance as the primary medium of expression and research. He also currently plays rhythm guitar for the Charleston-based punk band, Anergy, and releases music as a solo artist under the name Nox Eterna.
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Alchemical Records is a Washington, D.C. based music publication. We cover the Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Richmond, VA metro area music scenes, including band interviews, articles about your favorite musicians, new music and concert dates.
