Artwork by: Ingrid Kao
Style: Video Game Music, Progressive Rock, Jazz Rock (mostly instrumental, clean vocals)
Recommended for fans of: Koji Kondo, Danimal Cannon, Powerglove, Mitch Murder, Kavinsky, Timecop 1983
Country: New Jersey, United States
Release date: 7 April 2025
In James Cameron’s 1994 blockbuster True Lies, Arnold Schwarzenegger plays mild-mannered computer salesman Harry Tasker who, unbeknownst to his wife Helen (Jamie Lee Curtis) and teenage daughter Dana (Eliza Dushku), is actually a highly-trained spy for the US government. While the movie plays its deceptions for largely comedic value, I always thought discovering such a secret about a loved one would be anything but funny. Well, in 2025 thought became reality for me.
That’s right. My father, who for the past three decades I believed to be a similarly mild-mannered branch manager, has been lying to my family. Imagine my shock—nay, my horror as I was innocently perusing the tunnels of The Progressive Subway in search of review-worthy material and discovered CRT Dreams by none other than… Chuck Salamone. I confronted him that very evening, demanding to know how he could have lied to us for so long.
The audacity.
All jokes aside, the artist behind CRT Dreams bears no actual familial relations to our particular clan. Besides, I’ve never written my dad’s name in bold, and don’t plan to start. Chuck Salamone (Amigos, Amigos!), the man, hails from New Jersey; a multi-instrumentalist and co-owner of His & Hers Music, where he teaches private music education alongside his wife, Diane Aragona. As Chuck Salamone, the artist, he has produced two LPs. In Plain Sight, released in 2024, was a prog rock-focused platter of original tunes featuring nearly 20 different musicians combining elements of jazz, hip-hop, and flecks of metal. Imagine “royalty-free prog-rock,” and you’re close to understanding the listening experience. Competent musicians, toothless production, saccharine vocals. Honestly, some of it would have fit perfectly on a mid-00s Sonic the Hedgehog game.
Fitting, then, that for this year’s CRT Dreams, Salamone has turned his sights toward video game compositions—specifically, with the goal of creating new interpretations and arrangements. From classics like HyperZone, Sonic 2, Final Fantasy VII, and Yoshi’s Island, to more current entries like Final Fantasy XV and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, there’s a healthy reach to the selections. And I can’t lie, making a funk medley out of a bunch of Sonic 2 tracks (“Off the Hilltop”)—with a Hammond organ, too—is kinda sick.
However, there’s a central problem that undoes almost every composition on CRT Dreams, whether that’s the latin jazz intermezzo smashup of “Yo, Fungo Kass,” “Fifteenth Sunset’s” classical introspection, or the Koji Kondo worship of lofi-jazzhop medley “Koji Gets Lost for Awhile.” Part of what makes video game music click is its context; how it connects to and informs the player of the characters, story, world, etc. It’s not to say video game compositions can’t stand on their own (I own several of Michiru Yamane’s Castlevania soundtracks, not to mention Doom 2016’s), but more often than not most video game OSTs feel diminished when separated from their host medium. Couple that with a similarly tepid production job as In Plain Sight (individual instruments come through clear but there’s no real dynamics), and CRT Dreams quickly begins to fade into the background like so much disposable muzak. It’s clearly designed to be a celebration of video game music, but this lack of aural force leaves the album with an impact akin to listening to retail radio.
There’s also a novelty factor to consider, too. While listening, I was reminded of similar video game or soundtrack-focused acts like Danimal Cannon and Powerglove, or even “joke” bands like Austrian Death Machine or Dethklok. They’re fun for a time, but eventually the novelty runs out and I’m veering back towards more “serious”1 music. And even if video game music is your jam, the languid tempos and soft production make it easy to suggest sticking to the originals.
I hate to pen such a harsh review of Chuck Salamone’s latest work, because he’s my dad well-intentioned and promotes the positivity of music. Wafer-thin production aside, I think the compositions are (mostly) fun across the board: just listen to the electronic bop of “HyperGround.” Or “Off the Hilltop’s” smooth vibes and sultry saxophone. The truest misstep is closer “Pollyambria”—a mashup of “Pollyanna” and Coheed & Cambria that’s so saccharine-sweet as to be artificial, with thin vocals and milquetoast prog riffage.
Video game music absolutely deserves to be celebrated, and I’ll always applaud those spreading the love. But, the worst thing music can do to me is feel disposable, and sadly that’s the overriding sensation I’ve had while listening to CRT Dreams. Maybe if the production was more lively, less tucked into the recesses, then perhaps I’d be keen on some New Game Plus runs. But considering how quickly it all fades from memory even while listening, I just don’t think this is a game I’m going to spend more quarters on.
Recommended tracks: Off the Hilltop, HyperGround
You may also like: Ian Cowell, Ro Panuganti / Game Raga, RRGEMS15, Feras Arrabi, Lost in Lavender Town
Final verdict: 4.5/10
Related links: Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram | RateYourMusic
Label: Independent
Chuck Salamone is:
– Chuck Salamone (all instruments/arrangements, vocals)
- I like Battle Beast and Sabaton, okay? It’s not that serious. ↩︎
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