Record Label: EVO Recordings
Genre: Emo/8Bit
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com link

Karate High School do the impossible. They combine youthful emo/mallpunk with a novelty such as 8Bit/Nintendocore, and they don’t suck. In fact, this album is excellent.

Firstly, they’re not just peppering emo with goofy novelty effects. The casio and 8bit sounds are more or less integrated with the music, often driving the song’s structures, rhythms and melodies. In some cases, there’s nothing else like it. Check out “Burning Up For You” and “Can’t Hold Me Down” – sure, it’s dripping with youthfully exuberant emo, but their different approaches to power a pop song is an achievement.

Secondly, I hate to say it, but if you stripped out the casio and left the emo/powerpop, they would still sound great. The songs themselves are incredibly strong, interesting, and unconventional.

There are some misses. The vocals, while emo-y, have a great range and powerful delivery, but sometimes the incorporation of hardcore, screamo, post-punk, and 90s rock/grunge is for the worse. “What Are Those Scientists Up To?” has great casio effects, but it barely masks that the vocal lines sound like Hoobastank’s “The Reason.” “Three Strikes and You’re In” is a jagged mess of post-punk and screamo that doesn’t suit them.

But more often, their sound is polished power pop with stunning execution and production and a flair for progressiveness. I may be biased because I’m a sucker for nintendocore, but I think I’d like them even without the effects.

Bottom Line:
Notable Tracks: Burning Up For You, Can’t Hold Me Down, …And Then You Die!
Overall Rating: