r/ElectricCallboy

Still just says confirmed for me.

Listening to The Savior from Tanzneid.

Does anyone almost hear the original Power Rangers theme? Or at least the tone of the guitar?

Or am I having a stroke?

Overwatch Meme Edit.

I started with RATATATA and remember the community of fans around Electric Callboy still being quite laid back, cool and very inclusive. It seemed like a nice change of atmosphere from other toxic communities whenever I came here (and also the offical Discord). People came to experience the fun and joy the band created for all... no judgement, just fun...

In the last few months the tone somehow changed, becoming hypercritical to almost toxic.

• Every release by the band is being hyperanalyzed. It has almost become a sport to look for "faults" or to rate everything they do... fans of other bands are often just happy that their favourite band releases something of note at all - and, of course, they support those bands and "accept" the faults.
• EC are being accused of being "more corporate" and "distant" even though they try to include the fans through extremely generous giveaways (pink boxes), personal VLOGs, an extensive Escalation Fest fan experience with trains & ships, crazy live shows, long tours, many album editions to chose from, constant interviews and behind the scenes material - more than pretty much any other band. Band members even said in interviews that they don't like the "distance" bigger venues create between them and fans. They seem to care very much about this.
• They are being accused by some of sounding "the same", even though they are quite experimental within their unique sound (compare Revery to Let the Good Times Roll, Ratatata to Heartclub etc.)
• They are being accused of relasing an "irrelevant album", because there are only 2 new songs. Apart from the fact that everybody knew about this for months and could prepare themselves for it (and ignore some releases until the album came out), there was almost no substantial talk about the album as a whole itself, about the songs, the album design, the editions etc. Something that communities normally do.

I am sad that we cannot just enjoy the fun and success around this band (which is now higher than ever). Everybodys mood needs to be dragged down by hypercritical dissections of something that originally was "just" meant as inclusive fun for all...

Am I wrong?

I've been a huge Electric Callboy fan for years, but I feel like there's there's an elephant in the room since the Tekkno era ended.

Over the last couple of years, the band has felt increasingly corporate. From the outside, it seems like management is calling more of the shots, and the members themselves feel less involved in the overall direction of the project. They come across more as frontmen for a brand than the driving force behind it. Just look at the VIP debacle from last year.

The music is still fun, but some of the recent releases have felt rushed compared to what came before. The Tekkno tracks felt creative, chaotic, and packed with personality. Lately, some songs feel like they're following the same formula but with little growth. Whether that's fair or not, that's the impression I get when listening to the newer material compared to the old.

What really brought this feeling home for me was the recent album release. It was heavily promoted and built up with a lot of hype, but when it finally arrived there were only two new songs, with the rest of the record made up of songs we'd already heard and 4 (!!) remixes. I found that pretty disappointing as a fan as that's more Electric Bassboy than Callboy. There's nothing wrong with remixes, but marketing an album as a major release and then delivering very little new material feels unfair. Maybe if they had made a deluxe and included them on that would have made more sense, I dunno.

The overall release strategy has also raised some eyebrows for me. Between multiple editions, special releases, and now NFC cards, it feels like fans are being asked to spend more and more money. I understand that bands need to generate revenue, especially in today's music industry, but lately it feels like there's a stronger focus on monetisation than there used to be.

Maybe I'm completely off base, but the whole thing feels different now. Less like a group of friends making ridiculous music because they love it, and more like a carefully managed business operation.

I'll still be there for the live shows and I'll always listen to their music, but lately I feel more like a customer than a fan, and that's a change I never expected with Electric Callboy.

Maybe it's just me?! Sorry for the wall of text and inevitably the downvotes.

Edit: Thanks to everyone who joined the discussion, whether you agreed with me or not. I think it's healthy for conversations like this to happen, and it's been interesting to read different perspectives. Nico has said before that they want honest feedback from fans, so this is simply mine.

One thing I didn't include in my original post was the decision to move Escalation Fest from NRW/Ruhrpott to Berlin. For me, that was another moment that contributed to this feeling of disconnect. A lot of local fans were disappointed to lose the personable aspect of the event, and it felt like a move towards a bigger, more accessible market rather than something being done for the fans who had supported it from the beginning. The fact that it didn't even sell out this year only added to those feelings.

Ultimately, despite my mini moan, I genuinely want the best for the band. I hope that once they wrap up the Tanzneid shows this year that they get the chance to step back, recharge, and take a break from what must be an incredibly demanding cycle of touring, promotion, content creation, and constant engagement.

As a fan, I'd love to see them refreshed, happy, and enjoying what they do again, because I honestly think that's when they're at their best. I'll be seeing them again in January, and I hope that energy is there when they hit the stage. 🙂

Getting frustrated, seems this rollout for the physical media is a mess.

Edit: it’s apparently shipped again now. Guess we will see!