Review Summary: A band created to play at anime cons. Worst band ever?
Gimmicks are common in music, used by artists for attention they wouldn't get otherwise. Whether it's a central theme, visuals, genre, politics, or whatever. This band's gimmick was somehow lost on people. When they formed in 2008, the U.S. anime fandom was starting to move online to sites like 4chan and MyAnimeList. This band is simply an attempt to capture that culture in music form. Their singer Matt Myers is a video game soundtrack composer/songwriter who formed LeetStreet Boys with his friend "Frogs," a guitarist/producer. They immediately blew up online with the song "Yuri The Only One" and music video that was played at anime conventions and live shows from a world-touring band, "Video Games Live." Their music videos were literally animated by someone they found on DeviantArt, which explains much of the mixed reception this band got. They were a virtual band (like Gorillaz) with fictional members, but they used Newgrounds Flash animations. In recent interviews, they make it clear how that damaged their reputation, since the actual music is significantly higher quality than the animations are.
They kept the momentum of relevance going with a few other music videos from their debut, but what really made a lasting impression was their second album, Otaku Hearts. It features their hits "Cosplay Girlfriend" and "She's So Kawaii." Compared to the debut, it was a major step forward in quality production-wise. I can't avoid pointing out one main thing people say about this. The snare drum. It's often compared to the St. Anger snare. I really enjoy that snare sound. Producers and sound engineers can stay mad, but I'm a fan of the ringing snare sound. What's so bad about a rock song with powerful drums with a commanding presence? It's pop punk after all. Besides, the mixing on this thing is so detailed and clean that it doesn't overcrowd or muddy the track. I'd say that it pairs well with their already unusual sound palette of chiptune synths, 8-bit drums, and Final Fantasy-style strings.
Instrumentally, there's a lot going on here. There's heavy guitar and bass in drop tunings, Van Halen-style face-melting guitar solos, the forementioned chiptune elements, piano sections, and the occasional YTP-tier sample break. The singer is similar to pop-punk singers from Yellowcard, Sugarcult, New Found Glory, etc. The vocal harmonies are endless and hold so much power and conviction. However, ultimately the most unique thing here is the lyrics. They're written out of pure passion for anime, the anime fandom, soundtracks, conventions, gaming, D&D, cosplay, Japan, Japanese culture, and nerd culture. No other band on earth has compulsively hyper-fixated on these topics as much as this. The world-building in the lyrics is really effective and pulls you right into the romanticized fantasy.
It starts off with a titular instrumental track, "Otaku Hearts," that sounds like a Japanese video game theme. The melody is really fun but doesn't represent the album's guitar tone as a whole. "Up All Night" is a reference-laden love story about staying up with a love interest and playing piano for them. "She's So Kawaii" is even more full of references. It's not a story but just a list of things that are "kawaii." This song is absolutely incredible. From the lead synth part, to the dramatic piano break, to the simple and satisfying guitar solo, to the choice of words, you can't go wrong with starting here on a flowchart. After listening to this song, it's abundantly clear how stuck in 2010 it will always be." Cosplay Girlfriend" is inspired by "Punk Rock Girl" by the Dead Milkmen. It's a bittersweet story about falling in love with a cosplay girl and showing her off to his toxic ex. It's a short, sweet, infectious track that brings everything together with a song that will get people dancing at anime conventions. It's easy to forget that this band was never designed to sell out stadiums or rock stages with other pop-punk bands. They specifically targeted anime cons and nothing else. So that's what makes this song so euphoric, to picture a room full of people dressed in cosplay, listening to a song about that specific theme.
"Lady and the Trap" is a controversial song the band has made several apology posts about through the years. The term "trap" is a slur used toward MtF transgender women. There's a history of trans women being killed for the scenario where you would use the word "trap," where you thought someone was a biological woman and they weren't. Simultaneously, it's considered an offensive word because if applied to a trans woman, it implies non-validation of their gender identity. In contrast, usually in the pop-punk genre (and punk, obviously), there's a fair amount of vulgar language and sexual and offensive lyrics, all for fun and jokes (Blink-182, Sum 41, All Time Low, and Green Day). Hell, The Dead Milkmen are their only cited influence from interviews, and they're more offensive than all of those. The LeetStreet Boys don't have a single swear in any of their songs and only make an occasional sex pun. This doesn't mean it's OK to use the word, but it is a very common term used with hentai on the internet. They noticed a popular word used in the anime fandom and made a song using it. Besides, it's a very ridiculous story about having a sexual encounter with the character "Bridget" from the game "Guilty Gear," who falls in the category of this song's subject. Overall, solid song, catchy chorus, good use of vocal panning, warm synths, solo shreds, effective structuring/dynamics.
"Expert Mode" is a story about defeating a final boss and saving a princess by playing a song on RockBand. It was made for the sole purpose of going on the Rock Band Network. The final boss is literally referred to as the "evil RockBand warlord." This song acts as a sequel to their previous guitar solo-based song, "Guitar Hero Hero." This song has two gradually more difficult solos.. They'll rock your socks off. "VK Band" is a story about starting a visual-kei band in Japan and getting famous. It references bands like Dir en grey, X Japan, Malice Mizer, etc. This track is uniquely focused on the fashion side of those bands, which is what the genre is defined by.
"Super Saiyan" is an homage to Dragon Ball Z and has lyrics that only serve the song's uplifting nature. The fast lead piano part could fit right into a level on Sonic Adventure or something similar. "Noobslayer" is a heavier song that tells a dramatic story about an FPS gamer who reaches the top score. "Miku" is a love story about Hatsune Miku, along with Sora and Riku from Kingdom Hearts. It features a euro-style synth lead that goes really hard. The closer, "Wide-eyed Princess," is the only slow song on the record and says goodbye on a positive note. It's a really well-textured song with the string arrangements, trip-hop-style drums, bass synth, and elegant chord progressions. Lyrically, it's moody and serious while still having that silliness because, in the end, it's a love song about an anime girl. It fully indulges the fantasy of being with a fictional character to the furthest extent, while still acknowledging it's imaginary.
