Overview

This album was very interesting to review. Persona 3 had been out for quite some time in both America and Japan then all of a sudden a brand new chapter for the series opened up. That chapter was called The Answer. In The Answer most of the tracks from the original Persona 3 were used but a handful of new ones were created mainly by Shoji Meguro. These new tracks sound little like its predecessor. Lets take a look...

Body

The title theme "P3 fes" is a fusion of a few different themes from Persona 3. So many elements are melded together so well that the song easily survives through its strong constituent components. It starts out very J-Poppy but then goes into a more beefy and bombastic hip-hop section marked with plenty of trumpet. A surprise through and through. "Opening Act" is the first cinematic cue. Progressively loudening chimes ring in the air hair. The dynamics continue to swell until the chimes disappear. A characteristically Meguro-esque guitar subsequently takes the lead and gives the theme a rather hard edge. The sudden ending is disappointing and the theme is much too short overall.

A fragile and beautiful piano plays throughout "Brand New Days -The Beginning-". The piece is short and simple so there is little else to be added, but it is still an emotional highlight. In "Maya Theme", piano takes the melody once again here with strings as support. Over a small amount of time, the strings get much louder and trade places with the piano. Almost a sort of big band flavor comes out of the woodwork at this point, but it doesn't last too long as the piano takes the lead once again. "3/31", on the other hand, sounds more like a jingle rather than anything substantial. A keyboard is the only component here and it perpetuates a mood somewhere between a grocery store and mediocrity.

Most of "Blind Alley" is just status quo fare for Meguro. Breakbeat drums jam out here while a violin leads and a organ soon comes along to bring more jazziness to the table. The theme almost begs for some of the cheesy hip-hop lyrics heard elsewhere but they aren't delivered. They are in "Mass Destruction", though, which receives a special but unsatisfying here. Prominent trumpets ring in the air while very familiar distorted female voices blare out. A rapper tries to bust out a jam with nonsensical lyrics but it doesn't work — he is trying much too hard. When the female vocals finally rejoin, one cannot help but be very annoyed by the lack of lyrical and timbral substance offered.

In "The Snow Queen", quick beats and a completely synthesized melody are wrought through to give a sense of action. Electronica is fused very well with the piano and strings quietly come through the background to add a sort of epic scope to the track. An overdriven guitar is also added bringing an adrenaline pumping feeling. Everything meshes together very well here. "Heartful Cry" has a lot of funky rhythms to go around. It starts out with a very sweet melody from the piano then quickly descends into more industrial styles. Overdriven guitars hammer away and electronica sounds swarm throughout. When the actual guitars take the lead, the piece gains a lot of strength.

"Interval of Time" is one of the most intense tracks. A fast steady beat rumbles in the background and the piano eventually takes the wheel here with a five chord sequence. The piece steadily builds upon itself the entire time with the addition of more prominent drum-line, warm strings, and electronica elements that really change the overall landscape. In "Time Castle", a sinister guitar chugs along here and gives a feeling that someone is going to bust through your wall and attack you! Meanwhile in "Persona", a speedy piano grooves out here in a manner as if you were in a hurry. This is a track that sounds like it could be played in a grocery store too, but everyone in the store would be running all over the place. The energy and excitement of this piece really gets my heart going.

For the climax, "Darkness" descends into madness with buzzing and descending piano chords. The guitar then leads the way supported by a backing guitar and breakbeat rhythms. When the guitar finally gets into the melody, strings accent every passage played. There is a fair amount of energy created with the driving guitar work and overriding electronic buzzing. The ending theme "Brand New Days" is a standard J-Pop song. There is a catchy melody line along with calm female vocals. The instrumentals are pretty standard fare with the piano sometimes stealing the melody from the vocalist. The whole song gives an air of being in a field just lying down and feeling the wind hit you.

Summary

The tracks here were mostly a delight to listen to. I was expecting a lot more hip-hop influence but Meguro has nicely demonstrated that he is still capable of producing music without that kind of flair. Some themes were just retreads of ones from Persona 3 but the others really had a spirit all their own. There is a lot more consistency in this album, but then again, it is also shorter.