Oneohtrix Point Never’s influence is heavily felt in this release, much more so than in their previous offering “Everything is working”. Here they seem to hit that sweet spot between nostalgic remembering and the creation of something new. In other words, it succeeds where the previous effort sounded weak or thin.
Don’t worry; it isn’t as if this is very difficult music. The pop elements expose themselves immediately like they did in the previous release. Unlike that one, there’s much more in the way of hooks (if that’s possible) and the keyboards are in full effect. Remember that wonderful soaring synthesizers that Dan Lopatin specializes in? Yeah, that is here.
The more I listen to this, the more this appears to celebrate cheesy trance pop from the 90s. Can Games lead the pack towards this particular part of the 90s wave, of guilty pleasures with trance pop? “Strawberry Skies” sounds like it might have fit in nicely with Paul van Dyke’s “Castles in the Sky”. As much fun as this one is, I really adore “Shadows in Bloom”. This song I wish went on for a few more minutes, it is just so damn addictive, in particular those jerking edits.
In case the four songs weren’t enough, there’s a Games remix of CFCF and CFC remix of Games. Honestly, I prefer the original Games mix of “Strawberry Skies” and I haven’t heard the original CFCF, but Games’ mix sounds pretty sweet.
Overall, this solidifies my support for these guys. They are moving in the right direction.