If Cuphead (or GameChops’ new remix) has you raring for more jazz, then the mellow style of The Swinging Globes’ debut album Universe might be just the thing. The French duo play piano and percussion giving the album a consistent, minimal feel while each track bounces between themes from games and movies with nods to classical and jazz standards.
Their sound won me over right from the start with an unexpected piano jazz rendition of the Avengers movie theme I didn’t know I needed so badly. While “Avenjazz” sticks almost exclusively to Alan Silvestri’s theme there’s also a tiny bit of Zelda hiding in the track. It’s fairly simple in the first two songs but it seems intentional as an introduction for what’s to come.
Each successive track adds more and more cues. “Quick Call” opens with the Spring Yard Zone theme from Sonic the Hedgehog before swelling into a soulful take on “Megalovania” from Undertale. It suddenly dwindles down to just the piano and builds up once more into Mike Oldfield’s “Tubular Bells” from The Exorcist with Toccata and Fugue in D minor as an unexpected bridge.
In “Super Jazz Bross” the pair mix themes from a trio of Super Mario titles with John Coltrane and in “Bond strikes back” they combine the James Bond Theme with a medley of Star Wars tunes in ways I’ve never heard nor expected. Finally, there’s “SIMS” which is the most ambitious mix visiting The Sims, Silent Hill 2, more John Coltrane and “Tubular Bells” along with five themes from Ocarina of Time and Majora’s Mask.
Six tracks honestly feels like a short album but there’s so much to hear in Universe that you might think you’ve been listening for hours. It also flows really well from one track to another, and back to the start again when you inevitably hit Repeat on your player. Take a listen for yourself over at The Swinging Globes’ Bandcamp page and grab it for 3€ if you like what you hear.
