Chiptune punks
Anamanaguchi issued several low-key singles throughout 2010, the year their Billboard 200-charting soundtrack to
Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game was released. Several of these tracks ended up becoming fan favorites, and the group did the same thing a decade later, following the 2019 release of the long-in-the-works full-length
[USA], as well as the forced cancellation of their 2020 tour due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gathering all of the stray tracks in one place,
Summer Singles 2010/2020 contains some of the band's most powerful bursts of energy while demonstrating how far their stylistic reach has been over the years. The collection is sequenced with the 2020 tracks first, beginning with the danceable sophisti-funk of "Styla." "Kei," a collaboration with Japanese artist
POCHI, is a gleeful mixture of hardstyle and vocaloid pop, and the band's remix of
Porter Robinson's "Get Your Wish" goes even harder, particularly during its overloaded ending. "Jaime" features the digitally fragmented voice of
Jaime Brooks (
Default Genders,
Elite Gymnastics), who expresses that for once she feels alright.
PC Music's
Planet 1999 guests on "Everyday, Everynight," one of the collection's most memorable tunes, which is presented in its sparkling original form as well as a smooth, atmospheric, breakbeat-infused remix. Instrumentals like "Pixel Candle" and the
American Football cover "Stay Home" split the difference between glittering chiptune and
Andrew W.K. party thrash like no one else can. The earlier selections deliver the same energy, but sound significantly rawer and more lo-fi. Apart from the band's remix of "Rainbow in the Dark" by jokey rap trio
Das Racist, which is actually one of the most purely 8-bit tracks here, the 2010 tracks are mainly instrumental, though the lead melodies soar in a way that sounds like they're singing. The ambitious space-prog epic "Aurora (Meet Me in the Stars)" remains one of the group's most inspired achievements, and its rocket-powered sibling "Densmore" is just as galactic. The semi-industrial crunch of "Mess" is curiously reprised in remixed form as a dubstep track, offering a welcome, mellowed-out contrast to the band's usual hyper-charged sugar rush. ~ Paul Simpson
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