Quantcast

Call for Music Critics and Music Bloggers

Music
cover art

Heartsrevolution

Switchblade

(IHEARTCOMIX; US: 21 Oct 2008; UK: Available as import)

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.

Rating:

Weekly newspaper reporter by day, music reviewer by night (OK, and by day, too). When he's not writing for PopMatters, Andrew spends most of his time at online magazine Prefix and hip-hop site Potholes In My Blog.


Media
Related Articles
8 Aug 2008
Heartsrevolution, the latest electro/hipster/electro/ironic/whatever group from NYC to momentarily inflame the blogosphere with a track, suddenly blasted everywhere with “C.Y.O.A.” eye chart styled t shirts and buttons and slip-on ballet shoes and bandanas.
Comments
Now on PopMatters
Call for Music Critics and Music Bloggers (Announcements) [Tue, 3:00 pm]
Bone and Bell Release Second EP (Mixed Media) [Tue, 10:00 am]
Cannes 2012: Day 9 - 'Student' + 'In the Fog' (Notes from the Road) [Tue, 9:00 am]
The 10 Greatest Aspects of the 'Star Wars' Franchise (Short Ends and Leader) [Tue, 8:00 am]
Devil May Cry: HD Collection (Reviews) [Tue, 6:45 am]
The Walkmen: Heaven (Reviews) [Tue, 2:00 am]
  1. The Top 10 Overplayed Songs You Hate by Artists You Love (Sound Affects)
  2. Tea with 'Sherlock': Investigating the Investigators (Features)
  3. Sunk? This 'Battleship' Stunk! (Short Ends and Leader)
  4. Tenacious D: Rize of the Fenix (Reviews)
  5. Top Ten Lost Midwest Punk Singles (Sound Affects)
  6. Like 'Doom', In Heels (Moving Pixels)
  7. 10 Pieces of Cinematic Art That Require Revisiting (Short Ends and Leader)
  8. Punk Rock's Pet Sounds: An Interview with Bomb the Music Industry! (Features)
  9. She's a Rainbow: A Tribute to Donna Summer (Features)
  10. Counterbalance No. 82: U2's 'Achtung Baby' (Sound Affects)
  11. 'Albatross': A Not-So-Weighty Coming-of-Age Meets Mid-Life-Crisis Film (Reviews)
  12. Counterbalance No. 83: The Stooges' 'Fun House' (Sound Affects)
  13. We Will Avenge Them Or… Be Avenged?: The Individual in the US Experience (Features)
  14. The Queen and Her Crayons: An Interview With Donna Summer (Features)
  15. The Best Canadian Records of the Year? The Fun Agony of Voting for the Polaris Prize Long List (Sound Affects)
  16. Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music (Reviews)
  17. Flash Points: Mommy's Breast, Marriage Equality and Why Chipotle Is King (Features)
  18. Sherlock Holmes, Dirk Gently and the Case of the Eccentric Detective (Columns)
  19. Sergio Leone: Something to Do with Death (Columns)
  20. Early Summer 2012 New Music Playlist (Mixed Media)
  21. The 10 Greatest Aspects of the 'Star Wars' Franchise (Short Ends and Leader)
  22. In Support of Supports (Moving Pixels)
  23. Flash Points: Chicks, Sluts and Facebook (Features)
  24. In Defense Of... Rock Radio: A Force in Popular Culture (Columns)
  25. The Cult: Choice of Weapon (Reviews)
  26. Garbage: Not Your Kind of People (Reviews)
  27. Saint Etienne: Words and Music (Reviews)
  28. Willie Nelson: Heroes (Reviews)
  29. 'People's Pornography': The Mundanities of Pornography and Surveillance Culture (Reviews)
  30. Feeling '80s Spirit: Post-Hardcore Punk for the Plastic Generation (Columns)
PM Picks
Music Archive
Announcements

© 1999-2012 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters.com™ and PopMatters™ are trademarks
of PopMatters Media, Inc.

PopMatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
PopMatters is a member of BUZZMEDIA Music, MOG and Guardian Select.