Cruel Angel Theses

They say good things come to those who wait. I couldn’t agree more, having waited ever since I saw the first episode of Darker than Black, to get my hands on the soundtrack that contained the epic post-rock track, the one that’s first played when Louie uses his powers on Hei. Yes, that one. I’m a big fan of post-rock as far as things go, and naturally, my hopes were with it to be included with this album.

Having been a fan of Yoko Kanno for as long as I can remember since The Vision of Escaflowne, it’s really inspiring to see how much she’s grown as a composer. The character and charm that makes up the body of her work is still there, for the fame (and, I’m guessing, fortune) she’s now in possession of hasn’t gone to her head at all. Having seen her tackle classical, jazz, and electronica in her past works, I suppose post-rock was just a matter of time, and about time, too.

The first track, Go Dark, starts off strong with a blistering pace, as frenetic free jazz wanders its way through all of 3 minutes and 14 seconds. Kanno’s composing being as impeccable as ever, this piece captures the flighty frenzy that accompanies the characters in the show — there’s the underlying tension beneath it all, working its way through a deliciously messy song that, as it ends, is strongly reminiscent of Cowboy Bebop. She knows her jazz, that woman does.

abingdon boys school’s HOWLING, the TV size version, comes after that. I’m sure this piece needs no introduction, although I would love to add that the second OP, which comes with episode 15 of DtB onwards, totally ruins the mood that we’ve all come to associate through this gritty powerhouse song. It’s a pity, but I’ll console myself with the fact that Code Geass didn’t exactly have a good second OP and ED either. Such is life.

High Heels Runaway is another jazzy number, this time with a bit more finesse and refinement than Go Dark. I’m not really sure where this fits in, because it might not have even aired yet for all I know (and my music memory is quite good), but the force is strong with this one. It’s an enjoyable jaunt into pure Kanno territory, and it even stands alone as a proper song by itself, which is no less of what I’d expect from the master of the soundtrack.

It’s a shame my music knowledge only manages to pick up the very basic genre forms that Kanno uses in her work, but Tenderly is obviously jazz, with a lighthearted, almost tender side to it; something with soul. In theory it isn’t really representative of what’s happening in the anime when this track plays, but it works well alongside the show in practice, and I’m glad for that.

Remember Wolf’s Rain’s epic acoustic guitar track, Could You Bite The Hand? The same accomplished guitarist must have done something for this one, for Shido, in addition to having a name that wouldn’t look out of place in that soundtrack, has a subdued overtone to the timbre that suggests a nod and wink to that old track. It’s a pretty piece of plucking, and while it comes off as hollow in parts, it does what a good soundtrack should do — complement a scene, not overwhelm it.

Was evokes images of the bleak, dreary cityscape that Hei and his team members operate in. The melding of the acoustic and electronic here is mild, with the electronic touch leading the way for a mourning, almost hopeful guitar that picks its way to the top and back, before handing the reins to back to its electronica half again, resulting in a piece with an urgent bit of drumming that climaxes before mellowing back into smooth acoustic territory.

Post-rock suddenly decides to make its grand entrance right here, and this is where Outside steals the spotlight. Syncopated, off-beat drum samples that lay the groundwork for growling riffs, with a wailing distortion to top it all off. It’s one of Hei’s two battle themes that I love to bits, and although the other, nameless piece didn’t make the cut for this album, Outside will do for now.

No One’s Home is the first insert song of the album, voiced by the mature Mai Yamane, whose wispy voice carries the melancholy that accompanies the scene, where Jean dies and the cops find his body. As she sang, “empty rooms that I can’t hold, silence gets cold” it sent shivers down my spine noticing how similar that note was to Gravity, another Wolf’s Rain song, where Maaya goes “will I hear someone singing solace to the silent moon?” If it’s another allusion to one of her past works, it’s as clear as day.

Guy, of course, is Guy’s theme. The bumbling private eye gets his personality embodied through and through in this funky number — the saxophone here is boisterous, with an arrogant, yet well-meaning swagger in its pitch very much like the person himself, and as it comes to a close, you can’t help but smile at how much of his character the song embodies, even to the very end.

What good would a Yoko Kanno project be without a minimal vocals track? Mai Yamane makes her appearance here again, mumbling a mouthful of breathless melody accompanied together with an equally breathless guitar in ScatCat. It brings back strong memories of Escaflowne’s Godds Drunk and Cat’s Delicacy tracks, where Gabriela Robin sung a made-up language to complement the music, and like those two tracks, it delivers through sheer idiosyncrasy alone.

Keiyakusha and Shadow seem to go in hand, for we’re back in jazz territory, but I’m not complaining. The former, which means “Contractor”, seems to go hand in hand with the emotionless, logical demeanour that most Contractors in the show are purported to have, for there’s a purposeful, cold way in which the song progresses that’s quite unlike the other jazz pieces so far. There’s the menace that comes with a battle, and as it reaches what seems like a predictable climax it holds back — only to continue continue for a little while longer, as if to surprise, like Hei’s been doing in his encounters. The latter, on the other hand, has a smoky, retro feel to it. While I wouldn’t call Shadow a particular favourite of mine, it seems to wear its influences on its sleeve, and it gets points for not being ashamed to be itself.

Following the ‘dark’ theme from the previous two songs, Kuro is up next. Meaning “Black”, it’s a poignant guitar piece that, when followed by the equally mournful violin accompaniment, tastefully illustrates Hei as a person without condescending to the generic “sad” overtones that many a composer tend to fall back on when fleshing out a character’s emotions through the music. Simple, but it gets the job done.

For the longest time I could always tell when Steve Conte was singing in a Yoko Kanno soundtrack due to his nasal, Sting-like voice. It seems like he’s been replaced with the equally impressive James Wendt (however, it wouldn’t surprise me if they were the same person), who made his debut singing three songs for Kanno on the Honey & Clover movie OST, now appearing on Deadly Work, a feisty rock song I mistook for an extended version of Outside. It’s the song that plays during the nail-gripping battle Hei has with Wei Zhijun in episode 10. While the lyrics can definitely be applied to Wei “I work for an angel, I look for a saviour, by emptiness I bleed”, it’s the open-ended nature of how it relates to Contractors in general that endears me to the song even more.

Tentai Kansoku, or “Astronomical Observation”, weighs in at an ephemeral 46 seconds, but the weight of the piano here isn’t any lesser. It’s a great example of how Kanno can deliver so much from such a basic instrument; the melody here is clear, with a mood of foreboding that might or might not hint at a full-fledged, edgier version somewhere along the lines in the second or third soundtrack album. We can only hope.

I’m not sure where BlueCat really fits in with the rest as it could be another piece that’s yet to be featured on the anime; that doesn’t let it off from being a relaxing, tranquil piece that could very well illustrate closure at the end of yet another mission with Hei’s team, and the subsequent relaxation that follows. In the same vein, the TV size version of Rie fu’s Tsukiakari, or “Moonlight”, is a brilliant ED that has everything, from fitting lyrics to a wistful tune that confirms its place as a classic.

What good would DtB be without Yin, or for that matter Water Forest, the next episode preview music? It’s a soothing moonlit excursion that takes you everywhere and nowhere at the same time with undertones of everyone’s favourite Doll. Personally, I prefer the next song, Blend in, a solid performance by Wendt yet again as he belts out what could probably be Kanno’s most existential (and therefore pretentious) song ever. It’s the music used in the restaurant where Kiko takes Yin after bumping into her on the street, and it’s quite apt as far as describing Yin’s character goes, and as Wendt sings “they work hard to blend in, but it’s all pretending, like a dream” it’s not without a hint of irony, given how she’s blind to begin with.

Finally, In no Piano, or “Yin’s Piano”, is simply stellar in its composition. The closest I’ve come to hearing such a well-crafted piece has been in Aerith’s Theme, and this surpasses it by far in its own way, what with its imagery of isolation and tranquillity, and through how it brings back thoughts of a younger Yin and her precocious understanding of shapes. It’s a fitting end to an album that weighs in at almost an hour, and as it ends you can almost hear Kanno fans everywhere heave a collective sigh of relief and pleasure. I’ll be eagerly awaiting the next, you can be sure.