Full disclosure: “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” is one of my favorite movies, ever, of all time. Therefore, when I found out that someone had fused vocal sampling from the film with the righteous sounds of synthwave, I felt just like the famed archaeologist hunting for the holy grail when I discovered Who Ha.
“Synthwave Belongs in a Museum,” the titular track, comes in a few flavors and experiences. First and foremost there is the track itself with all the aforementioned vocal sampling, as well as a bonus instrumental version without them, but for my money the real overall experience comes in the video for the song:
To say this is masterfully crafted would be an understatement. Using the sound of a cracking whip as the start of a beat is genius. Utilizing the Wilhelm Scream, and that random car passing by shout, is hilarious. Synching up the dialogue with the beat, and the choices of said dialogue, is top notch too; Who Ha chose wisely. This is honestly one of the most fun synthwave compositions that I have heard in some time and it never ceases to put a smile on my face. My only regret is that I am only now just hearing it but better late than never, right?
Now, while I have given much attention thus far in this review to arguably the hit single of the album, there are other tracks on here that are fantastic in their own right that deserve a mention as well. “Magenta Teal Desert Cruise” for example, which plays immediately after the titular track, is a complete 180 in terms of bringing in a bit more of a darker and sinister tone to start before ramping it up with battling beat that ends with a calmness after the storm.
The next track, “Cool Teenage High School Jacket,” keeps that calm vibe running like a cool breeze before bringing the ice hammer down on the beat in “Concordia Station,” a track that almost makes you feel like you’re isolated in the location bearing it’s name. Rounding the album off after that is a chiptune infused track entitled, “I Don’t Wanna Do My Homework,” which brings back memories of days gone by where video games often mattered more than school. It’s my second favorite track, for sure, due to my previously mentioned love of such an infusion.
As I said before, my only regret in terms of this album is how long it took for me to find it, what with it being released over a year ago. So, if for some reason this amazing collection of songs hasn’t been on your radar yet either, I implore you not to choose poorly by ignoring it any further; don’t miss out on WHO HA!
Watermelon Banzai 