Originally released digitally and on cassette in 2018, The Ugly Art is a seminal, fan-favourite release from the American digital hardcore and electronic-punk duo Machine Girl. Known for pushing the absolute limits of aggressive electronic music, the album captures founder Matt Stephenson and live drummer Sean Kelly at their most apocalyptic and ecstatic.
Musically, The Ugly Art is a relentless, 53-minute sound collage blending digital hardcore, footwork, breakcore, jungle, noise rock, and rave. It marked a major stylistic shift for the project, layering harsh, blown-out synths and bloodthirsty vocal screams over live punk drumming for the first time. Lyrically, the album tackles anti-capitalist themes, self-image, and gender-abolition, aggressively urging the listener to reject outmoded societal norms and be unapologetically themselves.
Long a highly sought-after white whale for physical media collectors, the album has finally received its first-ever wide vinyl and CD pressing.