Review Summary: The thin line of appropriate nostalgia
I realised that I could not live my life with videogames every day. I had to go out and do something. But I also kinda trembled. I had lived through so many different lives with my sturdy old console. So many worlds I had explored, so many adventures I went through. So many people I had met, so many enemies I had fought. I looked back fondly on these memories. My youth. I reached for an old cartridge and placed it into my console. One time for old days past.
Making worthwhile Chiptune is hard. The main problem in this genre is the lack of diversity in dynamics, sound and possibilities of experimentation. Everything is just so incredibly limited. So, what happens when an immensely talented young songwriter wants to tackle this genre? Let me put it like this: Extremely mixed results.
Andrew Huang always was known for his big fondness of nostalgia, but on this album he kinda took it a step too far. Where his other output so far had been enhanced by a sense of nostalgia, this album right here almost completely requires it. Every song on here is named after elements from video games, most notably The Legend of Zelda. The sounds are familiar, the melodies seem oddly well-known, although being completely original.
Worth noting on this album is, that if you know the things the songtitles reference, you will be surprised at how accurately each and every character and scenario is portrayed by the music. It is hard to describe, but songs like Skull Kid or Toadsworth sound exactly like you would want or expect them to sound like. This is especially interesting when you consider that these are still very similar to other melodies Andrew has been known to write.
Now to the main problem on this record. There hardly is any music on it. More than half of these songs don't even break the minute-mark, let alone half a minute. Most of these songs are over before you can even manage to build an opinion on them. This is a damn shame, because the arrangements on these songs are very lush and beautiful, but as said, there is just too little time to admire them. Songs end before they even properly start.
How do you rate this album? It flows well, its melodies are nice and its production is lush. In every way you could imagine, this project succeeded in its goals. But it is just too short, there is too little time and it expects you to understand the references and fully bathe in its golden-baked nostalgia. I would say, if you generally like Chiptune, there should be no reason for you to dislike this album. If you don't like Chiptune, this won't change your opinion at all. And if you just want to see all sides of Andrew, you should definitely check this one out.
While playing and reliving my best memories, I truly realized that I had to move on to new things. Nostalgia is just not worthwhile enough to fully surround yourself in it for too long. I turned my console off and looked outside my window. It was night already. Oh damn, I thought to myself, I forgot to do my leftover tasks for my chef! I stormed out the livingroom into my working-room. Hopefully I will be manage to do them until tomorrow.
