I know that I’m going to temporarily lose 90% of my audience with this post. 271 days in, that just doesn’t bother me like it used to.
This is a chiptune record. The members of this band often play things like Gameboys and NES’s instead of standard instruments. I Fight Dragons is a nerdy band, and Kaboom! is a nerdy album.
I’m not one to embrace nerd culture. Self-proclaimed geeks are quickly becoming the new hipsters. Keep in mind, a person that claims to be a geek isn’t the type to get through a multivariable calculus class. Instead, they embrace things that are considered nerdy, but that don’t require complex equations or an encyclopedic knowledge of the amino acids and all of their properties. This can be done by taking a love of the Harry Potter series to unnatural levels, embracing Japanese animation, or looking down upon anyone who doesn’t share their interests in an arrogant manner that makes everyone around—including the real geeks—cringe with embarrassment and hatred. It’s not the passions of these people that are obnoxious—it’s the air of superiority, the faux-intelligence, and the false sense of individuality with which they carry themselves—just like a hipster.
That wasn’t as much of a tangent as you may think—this is the type of person who listens to bands like I Fight Dragons. That’s the main hurdle that I must overcome with this record because a band’s fan base is completely capable of ruining the band’s music for everybody else.
I must admit, though, Kaboom! is pretty good. I Fight Dragons is not strictly a chiptune band—they play actual instruments, and half of the songs could be described as fairly standard pop punk. But songs like “The Geeks Will Inherit The Earth” are keeping me from fully accepting this band. We get it, you’re using multiple retro video game controllers as instruments. That makes you pretty nerdy. You lose something by acknowledging it.
Swole Ear 
Sounds like some fairly standard power pop with some video game sound effects thrown in to try to sell records. Doesn’t do much for me. Reminds me of the time I was in a Best Buy and some kid was playing the Mario Bros. theme music on a keyboard on display (over and over again). I’m sure his Tiger Mom had made him sit at the piano for hours on end playing Mozart and this was his lame rebellion. It made me laugh.
Has A-Ha improved its English or has Linkin Park gone (more) mainstream? “Standard” does not even begin to describe the tedium. … Oh, and they got their HS chorus in on the action to show how down-to-earth they are. Homeboy, please!