Shirobon does chiptune euphoria like no other and whilst his previous album stayed relatively calm and showed lots of different sides of composition, Shirobon returns to a more strictly chiptune vibe for the amazing “Dimensions”.
Opening with “Fox” – it’s a hedonistic pleasure to get the thumping kick drum, the crunchy bit smashed arpeggios, some classic chord patterns and the sine wave overtures. It’s nothing ground braking but it doesn’t need to be when you do something so well. The hints of dancefloor production are so subtly mixed in you barely notice flanges and filters but they are there. “Alliance” takes a trip back to the very early 90’s with cheesy hip hop samples mixed with a frenzied bass wave that just doesn’t give up. This track is all about the bass line and it radiates a shoot em up / beat em up hell. “Crystals” plays with repetitive one note patterns and small motifs in a trance like fashion. It’s a track that spends most of its time building to the climax too and whilst the big finales don’t stay for long enough, it’s fun getting there.
“Dream-E”is a short interlude with dolphins. That’s all you need to know really – dolphin backgrounds for the win. “Out of Love” is chip pop perfection. Similar to the amazing This Love from the previous album Infinity, this has that drum n bass percussive speed and cute vocal snippets over a super jangled chip dance anthem. It’s blissfully happy and I challenge you to not dance to this one. Dimensions then closes off with “On The Run” which goes full circle with a raging C64 styled chiptrack to start before switching gears to a proper DDR styled track with hyper hyper future perfect plus plus keys. I love the breakdowns Shirobon does with it so a simple melody is played with in so many ways, not once does it ever sound dull.
Dimensions is a complete triumph. More chip than Infinity but still with plenty of diversity and room for having a good rave up – this is perfect for my nerdy little dance floor with my tetris lights on at full pelt.