Local Review: GANKY — FWM (DELUXE)
Local Music Reviews
GANKY
FWM (DELUXE)
RRRRRecords
Street: 02.13.2026
GANKY = Black Kray + Bladee + meat computer
When referring to music by genre becomes more and more difficult, why not just create your own genre label? That’s what Utah’s GANKY has done. GANKY calls his music “pluggstalgia,” a moniker that I personally love. FWM (DELUXE), his newest album, puts this colorful and creative sound on full display.
“Pluggstalgia” seems to be GANKY’s take on a wave of music that emerged in the late 2010s from a combination of genres like trap, cloud rap and hyperpop. That wave has mixed with other influences and split into microgenres like plugg, hyper-trap and digicore, among many others. Music in this vein is often characterized by trap beats, synth-heavy production, pitched vocals and internet references.
GANKY’s FWM (DELUXE) pulled me in with its engaging sound design, clever sampling and energetic trap beats. The first track, “UBER,” kicks off with the menu selection sound effect from Super Smash Bros. Melee, which is a great way to catch my attention. A rising synth line ramps up in pitch and tempo, egged on by trap hi-hats, scattered vocal samples and GANKY’s producer tag. After 12 seconds of building energy, these elements build into a head-bopping beat complete with dizzying, panned vocals. The effect is similar to cranking and then releasing an old wind-up toy! 12 seconds was all it took to get me fully on board and ready to roll.
“UBER” gave me an idea of where the second half of the “pluggstalgia” title may have come from. The track, like the rest of the album, is packed full of samples and sounds that immediately evoke nostalgia in me. The Smash Bros. menu selection sound at the beginning of the song is quickly followed by the familiar ringing of the Home-Run Bat from the same game, which is played many more times throughout the album. I grew up in the aughts, so Nintendo GameCube references will always make me perk up my ears.
Mechanical cowbell clangs, claps, vocal shouts and other percussive noises scattered across FWM (DELUXE) remind me of the samples on an old Yamaha keyboard I got for my birthday in 2002. The album mixes a futuristic sound with nods to the past, which creates a very unique and intriguing feeling. One might even call that feeling “pluggstalgia.”
You can find appeals to nostalgia in the album art as well! The cover includes a Gundam action figure and the Sonic the Hedgehog characters Shadow and Amy in an image that looks like it’s specifically from 2001’s Sonic Adventure 2.
After getting hooked on FWM (DELUXE) by the energetic opening track and the references to my childhood, I found myself coming back to the album for the more melodic and ethereal songs like “.” and “HEAVEN THERE’S A RAVEN.” These tracks replace the frenetic trap hi-hats with more reserved drum patterns in support of lush soundscapes and layered vocal harmonies. Despite the high energy that “UBER” leads off the album with, most of FWM (DELUXE) is actually composed of these dreamier beats. These slower songs are emotionally compelling in a way that I wasn’t expecting after the first few tracks, but they became my favorite parts of the album.
The melancholy synth that floats above the vocals on “HEAVEN THERE’S A RAVEN” has been playing on loop in my head since I first heard it. There’s a moment where everything but the vocals drops out for one phrase, and the Smash Bros. Home-Run Bat sound effect breaks the silence to bring that synth line and the rest of the beat back in. That moment is the highlight of the whole project to me: a combination of sensitive songwriting and the fun, flashy elements that initially sold me on the album.
FWM (DELUXE) is an excellent addition to the local scene, and I’m looking forward to hearing more GANKY in the near future. If this kind of music is new to you, I really recommend taking a dive into some of the genres I’ve mentioned. I’ve certainly enjoyed learning more about the timeline of how these musical styles developed over the years! One place you could start is RRRRRecords, a local record label started by GANKY and a few other musicians. Enjoy the journey! —Jacob Huff
Read more local album reviews in SLUG:
Local Review: TECOVA — Comfortable
Local Review: ULTRA GLOSS — The Dead Scene Scrolls
