Hackers: NOMOMO is a concept album released today from pologize, who impressed in November with “sorry kid, i think your god is dead.” The Arizona-based artist successfully pursues a new sound here, showing a more electronic-focused aesthetic with an interesting concept in mind. Hackers: NOMOMO serves as the score/soundtrack to the Hackers reboot that never was (2020 marks the film’s 25th anniversary). The concept album has its own website, complete with a alternate-dimension IMDB page.
The album’s concept reads as follows:
25 years ago…
A ragtag gang of hackers put their skills and information-should-be-free ideology to use, saving an oil company from almost reporting a 0.01% loss that quarter as potential victims of a hacker known as “The Plague.”
Now, with corporate socialism safely entrenched in the system, it seems like the world is safe. The gang-from-the-past are now parents-in-the-present, raising teens who, thankfully never have to put down their iPads to look at a command line… until a haunting new force appears.
Momo: Are they an elite hacker, an ancient Japanese demon or worse… a cryptocurrency speculator bent on breaking the back of the international financial system? Now, this May-December group must put family aside and try to stop this neon demon whose freakish mask may be the least scary thing about them.
The score is inspired by the soundtrack work of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, envisioned as the reboot’s original choices for the score. Nicely indicative of this sound is the excellent “The Only Handlebar Mustache I Trust Is in My Code,” which shows a variety of soundscapes — from lush, exotic synth pads to buzzing guitars that produce a certain vigor. The track’s tonal fluctuations would fit great during one of the film’s climactic scenes. The murky, dub-friendly nature of “sudo ./katana” serves as another highlight. Hackers: NOMOMO shows a fun, successful concept and music that aligns wonderfully with that concept’s feel.
