Tuesday 09.04.07: THE ADVANTAGE

The Advantage || Listen

The Advantage, of course, represent the most literal faction of this phenomenon, with their four-piece instrumental rock covers of assorted level themes and boss music. Far from being the only band practicing this approach (see also: the Minibosses, the Power-Ups, NESkimos, etc.), they’re nevertheless the NES translators with the most star-power, featuring one half of Hella and assorted other noise-scene moonlighters. But where some practitioners of 8-bit revival coast along on kitsch, the Advantage do more than just tickle your retro bone– an, erm, advantage that was hinted at on their self-titled 2004 platter and is brought to full realization here on the cutely-named Elf-Titled.

Substantially upgrading the fidelity, and stepping away from the more obvious titles they’ve already covered– your Marios, Zeldas, and Bubble Bobbles– Elf-Titled is more stylistically explorative than their reflective, scrapbooky debut. Game composers designed music that was meant to loop infinitely without growing tiresome too quickly, resulting in brilliantly complex, maze-like melodies that the Advantage are all too happy to make their own. With guitars executing tightly choreographed, noodly maneuvers through songs like Bomberman 2’s “Wiggy” or the music from the “Metal Man” stage of Mega Man 2, the band amps up the originals to reveal the songs as more than just background jingles. – Pitchfork

with:
Them Hills
Abe Vigoda

8pm / $8 / all ages