Heartsrevolution: Switchblade EP

New York chiptune punk-rockers Heartsrevolution blend distorted Nintendo glitches with Karen O-esque vocals and drum machine beats with the same fervor that they probably tried to beat the Legend of Zelda or Super Mario Bros. The clear distinction between those classic games and the music heard on Switchblade is that Heartsrevolution, though capable of writing one hell of a catchy song, aren’t at the Famicom’s mighty level just yet. But cuts like the title-track and “Digital Suicide” could propel them there. Both are unbelievably fun romps through a Technicolor stream of sound featuring glitched synths, simple beats, and hints of ass-shaking. And even when they slow it down, like on “Dance Until Dawn”, the group still demands that you keep listening. They only stumble on the repetitive and washed out “Wolves and Libertines”, a disappointingly dull track that brings the EP to a halt. But, even so, it’s not as if the other, better songs are exquisite works of fine art. If you are looking for what sounds like an NES filled with cartridges of noisy punk-pop, this is for you.