This is not a metal-album, and so far that’s what this blog has been about. Yet, my taste in music ranges from the extreme and odd, to the odd and the extreme. Anamanaguchi is a trio from New-york specialising in making pop-music, but with a twist, and i’m not talking about dressing up as an alien or wearing a meat-suit. This is bit-pop with a serious attitude.
Everyone who grew up during the ninetees know about the barrage of new things that came into being during those years. The video-game industry had exploded straight into millions of kids living-rooms, hip-hop was raging forth and undermining hard-rock culture. boy-bands polluted the air with their streamlined ”open up and swallow” clichés and mobile phones started becoming practical not to mention the silent quakings of the juggernaut called the internet. A new cyber-culture was emerging, and me being the little kid thinking video-games were the best things a boy could own, I fell in love, not only with the challenging and fun gameplay, but also with the music that came with it.
Although the band has said their main influence comes from pop-rock, the music itself is nostalgia inducing. The sounds generated by the hacked old NES and Gameboy consoles, plunges you head-deep into memory-lane. Additionally song-names such as ”Airbase" and ”Video Challenge" feel familiar, even though they aren’t clear references. The hyper-melodic songs capture that magic from your childhood, while still feeling fresh new and interesting. It doesn’t just remind you of the hours spent in front of the TV with a controller in hand, but also of the sense of adventure you felt while exploring your local non-videogame forest, the first time you attempted that kick-flip on a skateboard or attempted to kiss that special girl on the way home from school.
The music is strictly instrumental, but vocals wouldn’t fit and you don’t miss them. The old NES and Gameboy sound-chips handle the melodies with accompaniment from real-guitars and drums. The production feels solid and packs a real punch even though it’s purposefully been made to sound lo-fi. All albums from Anamanaguchi are worth checking out aside from Power Supply. Especially noticable is perhaps the soundtrack for video-game Scott Pilgrim vs the World based on ”” s comics released for the xbox 360 and PS3 featuring retro-graphics. I somewhat prefer Power Supply because its songs are made from the ground up to have a beginning and an end, apart from classical video-game music that usually is written so it can be looped infinitely.
I’ve used the songs as an alarm clock on my mobile phone, and that is perhaps the quickest way to kill a song and make you instantly sick of it. Unless you’re some kind of freak who enjoys being awoken in the morning. In this case however that never ever happened, each wake-up call felt like being greeted by a gentle friend. The melodies provided are not stock pop-melodies whose sole purpose is to stick, it’s complex and well-written music.
The pop-culture from late 80’s to early-mid 90’s has shown to have lasting value and Anamanaguchi is a standing example of that.
And even though you weren’t a garage-goblin as a kid who played video-games all day, like myself, this music is still worth checking out.
