Album Recommendation: Good Luck! Have Fun! by Gosh Diggity (2025)

 With a new Anamanaguchi album on the horizon maybe I’m just more primed than usual to respond to any chiptune-adjacent sounds but this new record from Chicago 3-piece Gosh Diggity hit me like a ton of bricks. Mixing emo/pop punk sounds with chiptune isn’t anything new but gosh darn it, Gosh Diggity brings such an energetic and youthful touch that it sounds incredibly fresh. The three members constantly swap the mic and occasionally bring in a gang of background singers when a particularly anthemic moment needs more muscle. Approaching everything from a decidedly youthful (but extremely clear-eyed) perspective, lyrically they often grapple with Real Shit™ like religious intolerance in the face of free expression (“The Season”), environmental collapse (“It’s Too Crowded in Here,” “10 Simple Tricks…”), growing up with all its uncertainty (“12th Grade,” “Display," "Growing Pains"), relationship ennui (“Dog Song”) and social anxiety for former “gifted students” (“I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter)”. But they can also bring the humor (“Gosh Diggity Dental" with its hilarious voicemail sample and subsequent black-metal scream) and consistently coax their vintage video game system hardware to produce huge hooks and gummy earworms that seem nearly impossible. It’s only 30 minutes long but Gosh Diggity show that they have the ambition, chops and vision for an incredible musical career.