Worm Quartet's 'The Pac-Man EP' is nonsensical fun 

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With a project called Worm Quartet that’s actually a one-man band consisting of a musician going by the moniker Shoebox, it’s not hard to see that nonsensical fun, bordering on craziness, awaits your ears.

The latest Worm Quartet release from Shoebox — whose real name is Timothy Crist — is a synth-driven, 11-track collection called “The Pac-Man EP.” Featuring clever, rapid-fire lyrics, the songs are full of acerbic wit and juvenile humor capable of making you shoot milk out of your nose.


“I’ve got a pocket full of quarters and I'm going to the arcade,” Crist sings on “Pac-Man Fever,” as if he were St. Michael, about to slay the dragon. The EP is a loving, if irreverent homage, as indicated by the song “I Had Sex With Pac-Man.”

Amidst the swirling goofiness, Crist manages to pack in some remarkable instrumentation — like when the brief solos on “Pac-Man Fever” recall the violent electro-distortion of Nine Inch Nails. This is nothing but fun. Game on.

Frank De Blase is CITY’s music writer. He can be reached at [email protected].