Summer Singles 2010/2020

Chiptune punks Anamanaguchi issued several low-key singles throughout 2010, the year their Billboard 200-charting soundtrack to Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game was released. Several of these tracks ended up becoming fan favorites, and the group did the same thing a decade later, following the 2019 release of the long-in-the-works full-length [USA], as well as the forced cancellation of their 2020 tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gathering all of the stray tracks in one place, Summer Singles 2010/2020 contains some of the bands most powerful bursts of energy while demonstrating how far their stylistic reach has been over the years. The collection is sequenced with the 2020 tracks first, beginning with the danceable sophisti-funk of Styla. Kei, a collaboration with Japanese artist POCHI, is a gleeful mixture of hardstyle and vocaloid pop, and the bands remix of Porter Robinsons Get Your Wish goes even harder, particularly during its overloaded ending. Jaime features the digitally fragmented voice of Jaime Brooks (Default Genders, Elite Gymnastics), who expresses that for once she feels alright. PC Musics Planet 1999 guests on Everyday, Everynight, one of the collections most memorable tunes, which is presented in its sparkling original form as well as a smooth, atmospheric, breakbeat-infused remix. Instrumentals like Pixel Candle and the American Football cover Stay Home split the difference between glittering chiptune and Andrew W.K. party thrash like no one else can. The earlier selections deliver the same energy, but sound significantly rawer and more lo-fi. Apart from the bands remix of Rainbow in the Dark by jokey rap trio Das Racist, which is actually one of the most purely 8-bit tracks here, the 2010 tracks are mainly instrumental, though the lead melodies soar in a way that sounds like theyre singing. The ambitious space-prog epic Aurora (Meet Me in the Stars) remains one of the groups most inspired achievements, and its rocket-powered sibling Densmore is just as galactic. The semi-industrial crunch of Mess is curiously reprised in remixed form as a dubstep track, offering a welcome, mellowed-out contrast to the bands usual hyper-charged sugar rush. ~ Paul Simpson