Anamanaguchi’s Scott Pilgrim soundtrack is still pop-rock pixel perfection

Scott Pilgrim versus the World: The GameAfter being stranded on old consoles for years, it was finally released again last week. I’m excited to get back on track, but not only did I play through it again, I also listened to the game’s perfect pop-rock soundtrack again.

The songs for Scott Pilgrim were made by the pop rock band Anamanaguchi. You are no stranger to digital music; In addition to working on Scott Pilgrim, they made songs with Hatsune Miku and played them in Minecraft concerts. Her roots also go back to the pop rock sound that dominated the early Aughts, and man, does he ever get through? Scott Pilgrim versus the World: The Game

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One of the most memorable tracks in the game is the theme of the first stage, “Another Winter”. It’s chiptune-meets-rock perfection. The driving guitars and drums the song begins with, with call-and-response melodies and a surprisingly melancholy melody, aren’t exactly your normal video game track. It sounds more like an already established pop rock hit that has been digitized, with the lyrics converted into blips and beeps rather than human singing. It’s excellent.

Other tracks delve deeper into what you’d expect from a retro-infused beat ’em up. “Maki Ya” sounds like it might suit you Double kite or Streets of angeralthough it still has Anamanaguchi’s own flair. The melodies have a lyric like you can almost hear words singing that make this soundtrack look more like a concert than ambient noise. You smash heads and hit guys with Ramona’s hammer at the show.

“Another Winter” really is the song that captures all of this at once. In a newer PlayStation blog

The band talked about their work on the soundtrack and how they feel about the songs a decade later Scott Pilgrim versus the World: The Game started first. Drummer Luke Silas referred to “Another Winter” and the song “Just Like In The Movies”, which has a similar pop-rock anthem feel, as songs that were representative of the band’s work at the time. “We’ve expanded a lot, but at this point most people thought we were pretty bubbly and fun like these levels,” said Silas.

Songwriter and guitarist Peter Berkman drew attention to the tension on the 7th and 9th chords used in “Another Winter” as a “stack of complicated feelings” that is ubiquitous in Anamanaguchi’s music. There’s a longing for the song among the otherwise upbeat melodies that remind me of it Saosin’s “Mookie’s Last Christmas”

or Underoaths “Reinventing the Exit”.

It’s been a decade since I’ve played Scott Pilgrim versus the World: The Gameand I’m interested to see if any of the emotions I had then still hold on now. We didn’t lack solid new beat em-ups River City Girls and Streets of Rage 4It’s exciting to find out if Scott can still fight the best. But I really enjoyed diving back into the nostalgic soundscape of this soundtrack. It’s the driving, melancholy melody that makes me walk through a snow-laden park thinking about life, you know?