Shapeshift Records came hurtling onto the vinyl scene in 2022, when they released GOTHAM ‘89, a soundtrack of an imagined 16-bit Batman video game, good.
When a label does something this audacious, it tends to stick in the mind, I mean – if that’s how they kick off – what is the next release going to be, can they top this?
It turns out that the guys and gals behind Shapeshift Records are not shy, and this, their second release is an absolute belter- and will make a lot of Ghostbuster-lovin’ folks very happy.
Supercharged by the raw emotion of New York City, an ancient evil is rising to conquer the Big Apple. In the 1989 slime-soaked sequel to Ghostbusters, our boys-in-beige must do battle with the Scourge of Carpathia, the Sorrow of Moldavia, the one and only Vigo the Carpathian…
Ghostbusters II was expertly scored by Randy Edelman, covering every mood & vibe from fun to tenderness, all the way to pure tension and horror. It's an amazing score that is powerfully paired with its majestic 80’s pop soundtrack, featuring artists like Bobby Brown, Glenn Frey, and Run-D.M.C. It was the absolute perfect combo of tracks for Shapeshift Records to transform into a 16-Bit Soundtrack for the ultimate Ghostbusters II video game that never existed. We proudly present, RIVER of SLIME.
This deluxe set comes fully decked out in "Mood Slime" Pink, and "Slimer" Green; with an included 12” x 24” fold-out poster that captures all the glorious nostalgia of your childhood bedroom. Memories of Kenner toys, Retro Video Games, and Ecto Cooler…
• 2x 180 Gram Heavyweight Vinyl Discs
Disc A: Neon “Mood Slime” Pink splatter on a transparent disc.
Disc B: Neon “Slimer” Green splatter on a transparent disc.
• Two-Sided, Full Color Printed Art Sleeves
• 12” x 24” Gatefold Poster
Music by Anar Keytarman.
Mastered for vinyl by Mauri Merko.
Album art by Tom Pollock Jr & Harry Shotton.
The magenta-heavy design and colours continues on the record sleeves themselves, as swirling pink smoke/slime acts as the background for some text from Chris M. at Shapeshift Records, explaining the reason for creating and releasing the soundtrack in vinyl form. The flip side of this shows a ghostly figure walking down a hotel hallway with demonic possession in his glowing eyes.
The second record sleeve has a series of demonic travellers traipsing up a pier from a risen Titanic, eyes green with a ghostly glow, the reverse of this shows the titular river of slime flowing through New York’s sewers.
Moving on to the records themselves, the first one echoes the cohesion throughout the entire design, being a splatter-slime bright pink, with the inner-circle artwork again illustrating screenshots of a 16-bit Ghostbusters II game that I very much wish actually existed, from these images alone, it looks great! The second record has a similar vibe but is instead a glowing green – the two colours that are heavily featured throughout the who design.
That’s not all – as was the case with Shapeshift’s previous release, Gotham ’89, there’s a huge double-sized and single-sided poster that shows what I can very much imagine would be a typical teenage bedroom at the time, with the fictional River of Slime game inserted into a Mega Drive (a slightly odd choice as the soundtrack itself has more of a SNES audio palette), as various horror VHS tapes, toys, posters and paraphernalia dot the area around the CRT (which features our heroes blastin’ Viggoand VCR, I really do like these images as it perfectly captures the vibe of the time.
You know where you stand from the initial tones that blast out of your speakers, this is a soundtrack that comes straight out of the heart of a Super Nintendo, and throughout listening I was surprised by how much of the Ghostbusters II music felt like it could have come from a mid-‘90s JRPG when transposed to a videogame style.
It feels incredibly sincere and well-realised. Following the intro of Baby Carriage in Heavy Traffic, the song kicks in, a track that will bring out the nostalgia in anyone – and features a musical motif that we’ll be hearing again several times throughout the records, in many ways, it’s the musical spine of the soundtrack.
It’s a big production sound that’s been captured and mastered well, the snare drum pops and snaps, the bass is punchy and moody - and the upright acoustic bass slides are real highlights. It’s quite a different vibe to Gotham ’89, which was quite moody, dark, and theatrical. Whilst this record features several songs from people such as Bobby Brown, Glenn Frey, and the classic Higher by Howard Huntsberry, which stand out as did Prince’s songs on the previous release.
The one thing that I did pick out through my listens was that a handful of moments in some tracks had a staccato stop/start style that may work well in a filmic score, but it doesn’t translate quite as well to a 16-bit sonic palette, as there’s less room for nuance in the limitations of the system. I also found Higher to be slightly ‘wedding party-esque’ due to the type of samples chosen for the vocal line, but these were my only niggles.
River of Slime is a beautifully presented release that is another hit from Shapeshift Records. Some of the music is so good it feels like it could be lifted from a Super Mario game, and some subtleties reveal themselves upon relistens. The soundtrack runs the gamut of whimsy through to creepier moments and all-out pop, which keeps things interesting, I can imagine that this is a record that will be snapped up and so if this appeals to you, act fast!
Also, a shout-out to the Shapeshift store, which has some cool merch in the form of slip mats and shirts featuring the label logo that caught my eye!
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