ust when you thought you'd heard of every musical genre offshoot under the sun—here's another one for ya': Nintendo punk. That's right, punk rock, about video games.

Consisting of four nerdy kids who admit that they know nothing beyond video games and punk, 14 Year Old Girls decided to combine the two pastimes into a musical endeavor. The end result is unadulterated, unpretentious kitsch. Because with "1-800-255-3700" detailing a frustrated gamers call to a video game tipline ("I'm glad I learned that new trick / Man that hotline's really sick") and "Castlevania Punk" and its so-bad-it's-funny lyrics like, "We're having so much fun it's scary / We got potion from the apothecary / Drac didn't RSVP: his loss / You know how he is when he gets cross" it's obvious that 14 Year Old Girls are, thank God, not taking themselves all too seriously, but are simply out to have fun, and maybe even get some free food from the birthday parties they play.

Now, I have nothing against "fun" records, but if I've learned anything it's that their replay value is virtually nil. Bands like The B-52s broke this barrier and were successful because they actually varied their silly lyrics, had catchy melodies, and had some groovy instrumentation to back it up, but 14 Year Old Girls, with such a marginalized lyrical niche (Nintendo games and munchies), and nothing jaw-dropping in the instrumentation department, grow tired rather quickly (In about 17 minutes, to be exact. Which also just so happens to be the length of Zombies In Robots Out). About the instrumentation: bass, guitar, drum machine and Casio-like keyboard appropriately provide a quirky backdrop for the similarly frivolous lyrics. "Rayden On Prom Night" opens the second half with vocalist Kimmy's pleasing twee like vocals (which are under-utilized) humming the song title, only to be shoved aside for other vocalist, "Halfy"'s irritating I'm-so-goofy moan/quaver which details Rayden of Mortal Kombat fame getting "the cold shoulder" from Sub-Zero and being told to "go to hell" by Scorpion. This is about as witty as it gets, people. On "Grand Theft Auto 3," Halfy gripes over the nerd aesthetic of video games being hijacked by jocks and cool kids: "Back when I was just a lad / The gaming seen was seen as bad / ... / Now jocks are playing what was mine / The cool kids are so divine."

Now I will admit, "Tomb Raider UK Pop," actually elicited a laugh. An acerbic ballad against the game that brought feminists and oversexed teenage boys together has Halfy relinquishing his irritating faux-punk moan for a bored, fey vocal. "Tomb Raider I fucking hate you / Your frame rate is so low / Tomb Raider / Your poly count is bad": probably the most honest lyric of the album, but hardly enough to save Zombies In Robots Out from its substance-less attempt at wry innovation.