Review: VGM

February 13, 2015

Video games are more than just gameplay. Though that is the core, other elements step up to make them the cohesive, and often impactful, experiences they are known for today. Many artists of all genres have been directly influenced by their varying scores, which go from chiptune goodness to full orchestrated symphonies. VGM, the first official EP by indie electronic musician F1NG3RS, is a love letter to these soundtracks, but not in the way you’d expect.

The 11-song EP covers a wide range of electronic styles. From the heavy 80’s style synth of Press Start, which kicks off the album, to the chill upbeat tones of Hideout, and the heavy Hip-Hop influenced Rumination, the album oozes style.

The reason for the flow between the songs becomes clear from the get go. The album crafts something of a narrative in your mind. You feel yourself transported into each song, into the world behind the EP. Henchmen conjures images of brawls in nightclubs, invoking something nostalgic from old beat-em-up games such as Final Fight. Night Drive throws you behind the wheel, with its Kavinsky-esque tones reminiscent of long nights spent at racing cabinets at arcades. Disconnected seems to serve as a moment of rest in the album’s narrative, feeling very reflective and almost introspective. Thoughts of plot twists, quiet lulls before the storms and last comforts before confronting the final evil, constants within many games, are drawn to mind, hammered home by the increase in ferocity intermittently through its playtime, and ending on a quieter note.

Showdown, like its name implies, grabs your attention and revs up the adrenaline. As the penultimate track, it serves as the “boss theme” of the EP, beautifully showing the flow between chiptune and other electronic genres as though it was a face-to-face encounter between the two. The 16-bit sound effects used emphasise this feeling; the listener feels as though they are at the final boss of a game, the rest of the album serving as hype up to this point. This is the climax of the narrative, and it does a fantastic job at doing this without being ostentatious or over the top.

Finally, the listener is brought back to reality by Just Me And My Video Games. This track borrows motifs from many that came before it, as though it was playing over credits to a game. The feelings of accomplishment, and again reflection, from the experience is clear to hear, alongside another dose of F1NG3RS’ personal style that is nothing but sweet on the ears.

The narration of the EP begs for some world building. This hasn’t gone unnoticed by F1NG3RS, as currently in the works is a mini-comic based on the EP itself. The comic is due to release soon.

VGM is a loveletter to video game music. It’s in the title, it’s clear to see. Instead of simply lifting motifs and borrowing orchestrations from gaming, however, the artist has created a sound very much his own that still instils the same emotional response as those games’ soundtracks do. Rather than simply borrowing, the artist has built what could be, in its own rights, a fine sound track of its own. It brings back memories of retro gaming, but refuses to mire in the past, updating the sound and bringing a very tasteful homage to the table that can stand on its own proudly.

In short, VGM is an absolute blast, and I implore you to give it a listen.

Want to know more about F1NG3RS? Here’s an exclusive interview with the man himself.