You don’t have to be a gamer to appreciate Cali Bellow’s single “LFG!!!! (i just died)” and its animated music videos with more signifiers than one would expect including an Aphex Twin logo on the upper left of the monitor and a NIN sticker on the lower right. But it helps. We see a figure navigating a top to bottom scroller and dancing on a nature path. The pitch shifted vocals sound like something you’d expect to hear in a hyperpop song and there are plenty of 8-bit sounds making up the soundscape and shimmering, bit-crushed tones to signal transitions. Obvious comparisons to Crystal Castles can be made but this song isn’t dark except for the mention of death and it’s a celebration of friendship and how hey can help each other out in our most challenging moments IRL or in game with a quick res or run through a place where we’re struggling. The symbolism of the latter and its application to real life is more apt than non-nerds would like to think. Even with the trappings of hyper/glitch pop there is something chill about the pace of the song as is the stride of the character in view in the video who seems to evade even the most low grade ambient hostiles. Watch the video for yourself on YouTube and follow Cali Bellow (aka Leah B. Levinson, bassist and vocalist of the great black metal band Agriculture) at the links below. The project’s new album Ciao Bella is out October 25, 2024.
Queen City Sounds and Art 
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