Electric Specter 電妖怪 - Arctic Circuitry ALBUM REVIEW
I’m gonna avoid using ‘wintery’ as a descriptor because, if I’m being honest, it’s just way too easy.
Well, hi everyone. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been here. I’ve had some great life updates that gave me less time to write, so I’m gonna accommodate that. I’m gonna review whatever I wanna review, and I’m happy that this was the project that the new era of Cordavision Records is going to kick off. I’ve talked about vaporwave before here, but I’ve never dove into the backlog of albums I have like this so I can write. Either way, let’s get into one of the genre’s most chilling releases, Arctic Circuitry.
The first of two releases from Dennis Mikula, a.k.a. Electric Specter 電妖怪, Arctic Circuitry feels most like a soundtrack to an old SNES game, but a blizzard froze the cartridge and corrupted the files. The project’s haunting, cassette-like cover fits this image perfectly, especially with the little hits of static and aged computer graphics. After some extra listens, I even noticed some video game samples throughout the project, which is probably why it’s not on most streaming services. “Freezeflame Galaxy” from Super Mario Galaxy is heavily featured in “Glacial Existence,” the opening track. Samples from Metroid Prime, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land, and Donkey Kong Country 2 also appear throughout.
Being unique in the vaporwave genre can be pretty tricky, especially with how many genre-defining releases can come so quickly in the genre. I think Arctic Circuitry has an edge because of one thing: it feels so larger than life, yet it’s confined to a pretty short 29 minutes. In my opinion, there are moments here that are borderline cinematic with how fleshed out some tracks are. Even with its repetitive nature [for the sake of the genre], it never feels stale. It continues to feel like something new for each track, and that’s something truly spectacular. When listening to this, you feel like the skeleton gracing the cover: you’re being enveloped by this cold, almost apocalyptic soundscape, and whether or not that’s a good thing is entirely up to you. For me, I got frostbite and I most likely have pneumonia.
9/10
Listen here
Well, hi everyone. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve been here. I’ve had some great life updates that gave me less time to write, so I’m gonna accommodate that. I’m gonna review whatever I wanna review, and I’m happy that this was the project that the new era of Cordavision Records is going to kick off. I’ve talked about vaporwave before here, but I’ve never dove into the backlog of albums I have like this so I can write. Either way, let’s get into one of the genre’s most chilling releases, Arctic Circuitry.
The first of two releases from Dennis Mikula, a.k.a. Electric Specter 電妖怪, Arctic Circuitry feels most like a soundtrack to an old SNES game, but a blizzard froze the cartridge and corrupted the files. The project’s haunting, cassette-like cover fits this image perfectly, especially with the little hits of static and aged computer graphics. After some extra listens, I even noticed some video game samples throughout the project, which is probably why it’s not on most streaming services. “Freezeflame Galaxy” from Super Mario Galaxy is heavily featured in “Glacial Existence,” the opening track. Samples from Metroid Prime, Kirby’s Return to Dream Land, and Donkey Kong Country 2 also appear throughout.
Being unique in the vaporwave genre can be pretty tricky, especially with how many genre-defining releases can come so quickly in the genre. I think Arctic Circuitry has an edge because of one thing: it feels so larger than life, yet it’s confined to a pretty short 29 minutes. In my opinion, there are moments here that are borderline cinematic with how fleshed out some tracks are. Even with its repetitive nature [for the sake of the genre], it never feels stale. It continues to feel like something new for each track, and that’s something truly spectacular. When listening to this, you feel like the skeleton gracing the cover: you’re being enveloped by this cold, almost apocalyptic soundscape, and whether or not that’s a good thing is entirely up to you. For me, I got frostbite and I most likely have pneumonia.
9/10
Listen here
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