Rob Price
Gutbrain Records
rob + gutbrain.com = email

2012 November 26 • Monday

Kunihiko Murai's score for Akuma no temari-uta (The Devil's Ballad) is the 245th Soundtrack of the Week is a book.

It's an interesting record, with most tracks consisting of short cells: a splash of fuzz guitar, a few notes on the piano, a loud percussive sound, some electric piano, electric bass guitar, one after another. There are more traditional melodic numbers as well, some on guitar, some on shamisen.

There's also a main theme, somewhat similar to John Williams's theme for The Long Goodbye. You hear it in a few different arrangements, including one with full orchestra.

This is great music for cold, gray, late autumn days: often chilly, atmospheric with lots of space and an impressive collection of different sounds and textures.