The first album from 8bit Betty in many many years.
Before I get into the analysis of this, a bit of background on the production techniques used here. This is an entire album built with a technique called “Fake bit”. It uses modern software to achieve a style that is most closely associated with small or old electronic devices like the GameBoy. The advantage is, you can get a lot more complex structures because you’re not limited to the few oscillators you get in the actual electronic devices.
Fake the Bitters is an entire thing. It starts with a prelude, and ends in a 15 minute+ masterwork that weaves elements from all the previous tracks. You would think that an hour of bleeps and bloops would get old, but 8Bit Betty’s music is continually evolving.
The melodies and lyrics are beautifully constructed. I can’t stop singing along to many of the tracks because they are so darned happy. The words are a bit hard to make out in parts, so I read the lyrics… and that’s where my opinion changes.
The simple tone of the music combined with the hardships and disappointments give the listener something more than a matched set would do. Listen to the music and be happy. Listen to the words and be sad. Or choose your combination.
There are a lot of super interesting academic composition things here, but this review is already too long. Go listen to it. If you have limited time, start with “Adventuring” and “The Hedgehog’s Dilemma”.
8bit Betty – Fake the Bitters. Available at bandcamp. $7
