Music update

This would be the great swag of music I’ve purchased locally and from overseas in the last seven days or so. I told you I was spoiling myself…

I’ll get This Binary Universe by BT well and truly out of the way first, I’m sure you’re all sick to death of me going on and on about it, but you’ll understand if you listen to it. Just trust me – go out and get the DVD, listen to it in surround with the lights and television off. This album really is for mature listeners only, so those looking for pop-trash need not apply.
Every track is great, but if I had to pick highlights, they’d have to be 1.618 and The Antikythera Mechanism.

An album released in the US under Six Degrees records, Lost in a moment by Shrift was a punt for me, and one that absolutely paid-off in a big way. Six Degrees are promoters of ‘different’ music in the ‘States, and I first encountered them as the U.S. distributors of dZihan & Kamien, one of my favourite artists. Lost in a moment is an absolutely brilliant album, filled wall to wall with mellow lounge grooves and the smoothest silky vocals you’ll ever hear.
Highlights are the opener and title track Lost in a moment, the wonderfully lazy and charming Yes I love you, and the sombre yet playful Blue.

Hybrid’s new album I choose noise absolutely slammed into the scene this summer (winter for all of you norhtern hemisphere folk) with a new work with their orchestral counterpart Harry Gregson-Williams, who many will know from his extensive film-scoring career. After a brilliant and mature second album Morning Sci-Fi, it was always going to be difficult to follow-up, but they boys from Hybrid have produced an exceptional third album that pushes their break-beat/progressive trance and orchestral hybrid of sound from which they derive their name. Darker and more menacing than their previous works, I choose noise features more developed orchestral elements and longer intros and movements in each track, asserting all the more their ever maturing style.
Highlights are Dog star, Falling Down, Last man standing, Keep it in the family and Until Tomorrow.

Yoko Kanno, goddess of all things musical has released the soundtrack for Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – Solid State Society, (Japanese language page), or rather Victor Music has. In any case, it’s yet another amazing exhibition of Kanno-sama’s absolute brilliance, versatility and sense of emotion. I wouldn’t say it features as good a selection as the third Stand Alone Complex CD that features tracks from 2nd Gig, but Solid State Society still has some outstanding productions on it.
The main highlight is Somewhere in the silence (sniper’s theme) which is remeniscent of Way out West’s Stealth, only a whole lot better. Many of the other tracks are great too, but I’ve only just received this CD yesterday from Japan, so I’m not familiar with which tracks I love more than the others and their correct names.

Intercept!, the fourth album from UK dreamy electronic duo Bent was a little disappointing. After the brilliant third album Ariels, I suppose high expectations were innevitable, afterall, it has become a holy grail in my collection. Intercept! unfortunately shows that even the Bent boys aren’t immune to the awful 80s electro re-hash trend that’s sweeping the globe at the moment, and many of the tracks on this album fail to assert Bent’s own unique style, and pretty much could have been recorded and produced by anyone. This is particularly disapointing because Bent have always been anything but ordinary… until this album. There are a few decent tracks though, but none that stand out enough for me to say that they’re highlights yet. Unfortunately I’m awash with great music so Intercept! fails to fight for attention in the wake of the other titles listed here.

Anime is never far from my eyes or ears, and Olivia’s performance of A little pain, (Japanese language page), the end-titles for the series Nana has become an anthem for me. It’s very much in the tradition of 90s rock ballads being a grand, heart-throbbing, guitar filled love-song, but it absolutely works in evoking all of those emotions that make us love those songs so much. Aside from that, the relevance of the song to the series is particularly well translated, and like many of the better anime themes, accurately captures the ideologies and emotions at the core of the show.

Maho no Kotoba, (Japanese language page) by Spitz deserves a solid mention as I’ve been listening to it for quite some time now. The end titles of the Honey & Clover movie, this track really is a sweet and encouraging accoustic-rock song by one of the best bands in the world. Even though I’m yet to see the film, Spitz’ music has always been a core element and inspiration for the Honey & Clover world, and Maho no Kotoba fits right in to the wonderful world of youth and young-adulthood.

Speaking of which…
Pre-orders for the Honey & Clover – Live action movie, (Japanese language page) which launches January 12th are now open, and I really should have listed that sooner… no wait… maybe I did… I let everyone over at Anime News Network know anyway, but yes – you should all place a pre-order for this film. From the previews it looks to be just as good as the show, with many moments taken from both the first and second series’, but a few hints at things that haven’t been shown in either of them.
Show your support and get into this movie! This release will even have English subtitles! How rare! Go and order it now!