There’s nothing like the Grammys to make one feel out of touch with popular music.
After spending a relaxing few days near the cape, I arrived back home Sunday night just in time to catch the latter half of the music industry’s biggest awards show of the year. Promptly, I became ill.
Maybe the cause was Lady Gaga’s fashion sense. Maybe the cause was Jeff Beck, Tom Petty, Neil Young and Pearl Jam all simultaneously being snubbed in their respective bids to win Rock Album of the Year. Maybe it was Justin Bieber’s fault. The many reasons behind my Grammy-inspired sickness are not important. What is important is the cure.
When I could no longer stomach the glitz and glamour or Jennifer Lopez and Mark Anthony’s painful attempts at marital chit chat, I wandered upstairs to my office and began sifting through the piles of pending album releases littering my desk. Quickly, I knew I had found the answer. There, staring back at me with a multitude of colors and a motley collection of anime characters was the latest release by Anamanaguchi.
Though coming in at a mere three tracks, “Airbrushed” (out March 8 via Insound Records) is an accurate representation of everything that makes the band unique. As a “melodic eight-bit four piece from Brooklyn, N.Y.,” the group combines pop punk guitar and drums with the hacked sounds of an old school Nintendo Entertainment System to create “hyper-active, hyper-positive” jams. Several band members are even listed as playing the NES as an instrument along with old Game Boys. The result is a mix of nostalgia and joy.
While listening to the album’s title track, I was transported from the land of Rhianna to the land of “Adventure Island.” Instead of grooving to Dr. Dre I was pursuing Dr. Wily. Forget Christina Aquilera and company’s tribute to the Queen of Soul. The only diva on my mind was Zelda, and I anxiously began calculating just how many silver arrows it would take for me to get her back from Ganon.
Unfortunately, as soon as my trip down memory lane began it was over. Even with a re-mix thrown in “Airbrushed” lasts less than 11 minutes. However, the sugar rush provided gives ample reason to play the set over and over again until you are as wired as a Pokemon on meth. Don’t believe me? Check out the video of the band in action below. Now if you will excuse me. There’s a certain Mushroom Kingdom that needs saving.
See the band perform the song “Helix Nebula” from their album “Power Supply” here:
For more information on Anamanaguchi and future tour dates (including an East Coast stop in Baltimore, Md.) please visit www.anamanaguchi.com or http://www.facebook.com/pages/ANAMANAGUCHI/42044892361.
