I Fight Dragons/MC Lars/SKYFOX

Today’s video games contain elaborate music scores, and oftentimes songs composed by popular bands. But back in the era of classic video games like Super Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda, the music that came out of those games had a charming simplicity and catchiness. Now that the children who grew up with those games have grown up, they’re starting bands and making music influenced by that 8-bit style of music, also known as chip-tune. I Fight Dragons combines pop/rock with chip-tune, and their concept is wholly based on the whimsy and joy of video games, from their album art to their fan community completing “quests” to promote the band and gaining points in order to earn prizes. Their debut album, KABOOM!, came out last year, and can be downloaded for free from their official website. Along with the familiar sounds from various video games, the poppy guitars, synth lines, and vocals make the album sound like Motion City Soundtrack. The album’s subject matter is video game related (of course), and a couple songs are simply about geekdom. The only downfall is that sometimes the subject matter makes for some cheesy lyrics, but overall, it’s a worthwhile listen. (Sam Mendez)