REVIEW: Alice Longyu Gao's "Let's Hope Hetereos Fail, Learn and Retire"

The second EP from Chinese hyperpop and rap artist, Alice Longyu Gao has dropped. On this one Gao mostly gathers singles from the past couple of years in one place with a new cut or two to present as well. I personally have been a fan of Gao's music throughout the 2020s but have only heard singles here and there but was eager to hear a full project and now that I have I find it to be a bit of a mixed bag.

The intro and title track, to me, comes off as a bit of a joke and feels like I shouldn't even review it as an actual song. While I'm of course all for, and quite a fan of, LQBT anthems I think that calling someone a "heterosexual guy" comes off as pretty clunky and awkward. There's some awkward call and responses to be found here as well with acronyms that don't quite make sense and weird brand callouts. I do enjoy this drop though and the fun club chants have a great vibe. Also want to point out that it took me until about the fifth listen to realize the reprise of this track is a shit flute meme.


Speaking of memes; "Come 2 Brazil" feels way outdated a concept for a song in 2023. This is a cool track, however it's catchy, it's heavy and goes hard. That heaviness continues on "Believe the Hype" with some nice shifting melodies and a feature from Bring Me the Horizon's Oli Sykes, who despite being as cookie cutter and overplayed as he is delivers a decent performance in his own right. The awkward lyrics do continue though, Gao brags about eating meat and being Reddit famous on this one and it just feels like such a strange pull.


A better version of the genre fusion found on that track is found on "Make U 3 Me;" a sugary sweet pop song found layered into a more metal leaning exterior. The song's presentation manages to change a dime and go back and forth between styles, which is a trope in the genre that gets me every single time when done well.


All in all, while I am a bit back and forth on some decisions found on this project I do walk away still a fan. Keep in mind this review is written by someone who can be regularly found at her day job saying she "hates cis people." I can appreciate a good dunk on the straights, but I also think it can be done in a way that hits. Are these all hits? Sonically or thematically? No. But there are some fun songs and in the spirit of the genre that's what I ultimately want.

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