Review Summary: For a quick summary: Imagine if Your Favorite Martian wasn't terrible.
Arin "Egoraptor" Hanson and Dan "Danny Sexbang" Avidan have done several projects together in the past. Hanson animated the music video for "Dinosaur Laser Fight", a song by Avidan's band, Ninja Sex Party, and the two have recently collaborated on Hanson's gaming show, Game Grumps. Now the two have collaborated once again to bring you "Starbomb", a video game fueled comedy pop supergroup between Egoraptor and Ninja Sex Party.
Anyone familiar with either one of these two will know what to expect, and they will basically get it. NSP's musical style and Egoraptor's distinct comedic style seen in his popular animations are both on display here. The ridiculous sexual lyrics and Hanson's unique delivery mesh together very well in these songs, but they also both feel a bit odd throughout. Most songs mention sex in some way with video game references strewn throughout. "Luigi's Ballad" is about how the two Mario Bros. fight over Princess Peach and how Mario is a bit of a douche about it all. "It's Dangerous to Go Alone" is about how the old man from the first Zelda keeps trying to get Link to give him a handjob. The song is about as dumb as it sounds and is probably one of the worst on the album, until you get to "Kirby's Adventure in Reamland" which is simply about having sex with Kirby. The imagery that is given through the song is what ruins it, and it leaves the realm of being ridiculous and silly to being very uncomfortable to listen to.
Despite some clunkers, the majority of the album is actually very enjoyable. "Rap Battle: Ryu vs. Ken" is a very funny song where the Street Fighter characters duke it out with rhyme. Ryu is very competitive and impressive with his rapping while Ken doesn't care as much and raps very poorly, to an amusing degree. "The Simple Plot of Final Fantasy VII" is a creative track where Cloud Strife is misplaced in a club of video game characters from games with very simple storylines, such as Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, and Frogger. If you watch Game Grumps, you'll certainly notice the influence that Hanson and Avidan doing the show together have had on the humor of "Starbomb". The delivery of certain jokes are very recognizable from the popular gaming channel and fans of the show will certainly get a chuckle out of it.
Though, what steals the show isn't the humor. It isn't even the fact of the collaboration. It's the production. The album sounds absolutely beautiful. Everything sounds so crisp and clear. The harmonies of Avidan's vocals of this album sound amazing. His voice is an odd combination of very nice and a bit underwhelming, and it works quite well for this album, and the way that it's produced is incredible on the ears. Perhaps the best part is the beats. There is not a bad song instrumentally on this album. Every single one enfuses pop and rock flawlessly, which is to be expected from "Ninja" Brain Wecht on production. The best example of this is "Sonic's Best Friend", my personal favorite on the album. Sonic the Hedgehog's lines are very peppy and kid-friendly sounding, and the music accompanies the feeling, but the chorus has a PCP addicted Tails rapping to a heavy metal beat. The entire song is so creatively put together and sounds so, so good.
"Starbomb" is pretty much what you expect. If you think Ninja Sex Party, Egoraptor's animations, and Game Grumps are funny, you're probably going to find this funny. While the overly-present sexual aspects drag it down a bit, the overall creative sound, well delivered vocals, and stellar production, make it a joy to listen to. Though, if you don't really know much about the video games sung about here, you may be lost in some of the humor. Despite that, everyone should give this a listen.
