Kenji Kawai - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Original Soundtrack Vol. 2 [2006]

First four tracks are mostly dark atmosphere, but things seem to get more interesting with "怖震" when really dark and evil strings haunt the air. This OST is much more dark than the previous. However, it's also much more repetitive... one theme in particular has come up in at least 5 songs and I'm only halfway through the album.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.kenjikawai.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Kenji Kawai - Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Original Soundtrack [2006]

I was actually expecting this to be crappy for some reason. However, if the first track is to be any indicator of the rest of the album, I may end up loving it. Album starts off with a sedate orchestra and vocal "ooos" with a calm electronic beat that is overall quite ominous yet soothing. "散策": ok, so here's the reminder that this is indeed an Anime soundtrack... gotta have the happy town music. I'm almost laughing over the monstrous extremes displayed on this album: adorable cuteness one minute, brooding evil the next. At times, things become atmospheric and soothing; this is where the album really shines for me because the atmosphere is incredible yet not boring or noisy. Rarely, there will appear a song that tickles my epic-nerve. I wish there were more of those songs on here. Overall, not bad, but not the art-house I was hoping for based on the opening track. The cute stuff is ridiculously adorable, putting a smile on my face, but it always feels a bit out of place on this album. The evil stuff, while not directly evil, is quite ominous and dark. OH FUCK!! I THINK I'VE FIGURED IT OUT: I'm pretty sure that all of the tracks with "!" in them are the cutsie ones... if this is true, I want to hug Kenji and thank him for making them easily identifiable.

Rating: 7.5

http://www.kenjikawai.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Kenji Kawai - Innocence O.S.T. [2004]

Similar, yet different. There's still plenty of atmosphere and percussion, but there is also much more variation between the tracks and some tracks (like "Attack the Wakabayashi") are just downright explosive. Maybe I'm just a little crazy, but the insane vibrato choir is a bit more grating this time around. However, I can't take any points off from the album because everything else is just so much more proficient and well-written. Plus, there is more variation in the choir.

Rating: 9

http://www.kenjikawai.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.

Kenji Kawai - Ghost in the Shell Original Soundtrack [1995]

Ambient. Percussive. Erie. Perfectly crafted. Even the nutty vibrato that the chorus performs has grown on me and adds to the creepy effect of the music. "M04 Virtual Crime" throws some cool guitars into the mix towards the end. "M05 Chant II - Ghost City" throws more of the normal tonal effects and keys behind the same chant that was in "M01". Normally, this sort of ambient music bores me, but this is so precisely crafted that everything feels like it has its purpose instead of just being a bunch of effects that are thrown together. I am, however, not a fan of the recycled chants in some of the songs. Even though the music behind them is different, I would have preferred to hear new chant rhythms and notes. The mixture of mostly ambient tracks with more beautiful tonal tracks really suits the soundtrack and the mood well; it also creates some small sense of variety throughout the album. Finally, as far as I'm concerned, this soundtrack only has 10 tracks. "See You Everyday" is an abomination that has nothing to do with anything about the OVA or the music contained therein.

Rating: 9

http://www.kenjikawai.com/

All ratings are out of 10. Rating may not be a whole number.