C'est la rêve qui chante…

Macross Frontier Original Soundtrack 1 Nyan FRO.
マクロスF O.S.T.1　娘フロ。
all music composed by Kanno Yoko

As Macross Frontier has a lot of in-anime singing, this soundtrack features several songs from the two songstress characters. Nakajima Megumi is the seiyuu for Ranka Lee, and May’n provides the singing voice of Sheryl Nome.

(released June 4th, 2008)

1. Frontier 2059
2. Welcome To My FanClub’s Night! (Sheryl On Stage) (vocal: May’n)
3. What ’bout my star? (Sheryl On Stage) (vocal: May’n)
4. 射手座☆午後九時Don’t be late (Sheryl on Stage) [Iteza☆Gogo Kuji Don't  be late (Sheryl on Stage)] (vocal: May’n)
5. Vital Force
6. トライアングラー [Triangler] (vocal: Sakamoto Maaya)
7. Zero Hour
8. What ’bout my star?@Formo  (vocal: Nakajima Megumi, May’n)
9. Innocent green
10. アイモ [Aimo] (vocal: Nakajima Megumi)
11. ビッグ・ボーイズ [Big Boys]
12. Private Army
13. SMS小隊の歌～あの娘はエイリアン [SMS Shoutai no Uta ~ Ano Ko wa Alien]
14. ニンジーン Loves you yeah! [Ninjin Loves you yeah!] (vocal – Nakajima Megumi)
15. 「超時空飯店 娘々」CMソング(Ranka Version) [Chojiku Hanten Nyan Nyan CM Song (Ranka Version)] (vocal – Nakajima Megumi)
16. Alto’s Theme
17. TALLY HO!
18. The Target
19. Bajura
20. キラキラ [Kira Kira]
21. アイモ～鳥のひと [Aimo ~ Tori no Hito]
22. Take Off
23. インフィニティ [Infinity]
24. ダイアモンド クレバス [Diamond Crevasse]

*some songs have already been reviewed, and are linked to their reviews

Frontier 2059 is a good instrumental to set the scene – I remember hearing it in the beginning of the early episodes. It’s just a symphony orchestra track, with emphasis on the brass and strings, with the decisive brass lines announcing the Macross ship and the colonies and the meandering strings giving the whole ‘drifiting in space’ feel.

Right after entering the colony, we’re treated to a concert with three “Sheryl on Stage” tracks. With a title like Welcome To My FanClub’s Night!, I was expecting something sparkly and cheesy, but I’m treated to a dramatic entrance with sweeping strings. This is a song that takes itself seriously, and May’n gives a solid performance here. She sings this full of Sheryl’s attitude – she knows she’s got it and struts her stuff. Not even the occasional LULZY Engrish can take away from that effect. Not a bad concert opener, even if it’s a virtual one.

I like how the audience cheering and the continuing beat segues right into What ’bout my star?, complete with even more Engrish. This is one of my favorite Sheryl tracks due to its sheer catchiness even though the chorus is just the repetitive “what ’bout my star?” I prefer this more flirty, lighthearted side of Sheryl. I love May’n vocal inflections during in the chorus. I also like the fake audience cheers – it gives me the feeling of listening to a live, but is less jarring than the real thing. Not too fond of the arrangement though, it’s a bit jarring in some instances.

Another neat transition to keep up the ‘concert’ feel. What’s different from the single version of Iteza☆Gogo Kuji Don’t be late is that there’s that fake crowd again in the background. I like the OST version much better in context, but the single would be more enjoyable on its own.

Vital Force just sounds like the typical welcome song for the military – I’m not too fond of brass (being more of a piano and strings person).  My favorite part were the drums and frantic strings in the end, although the piece ended very abruptly. This would make a good overture piece – I think it would do better than Frontier 2059 as an intro.

Interesting choice to put Triangler here, instead of earlier on. It’s still one of my favorites from the series, even though I’ve listened to it so much that I’m starting to get sick of it.

Nice electric guitars in Zero Hour, though I really think a string orchestra arrangement would suit the melody more. And the scratchy beat kind of annoys me. Thankfully, everything gets much better at the halfway point – that’s when the strings actually come in.

What ’bout my star?@Formo – Ranka covers one of Sheryl’s songs at the Formo mall – I remember that episode with the impromptu jam session well. Nakajima Megumi doesn’t have nearly the same power as May’n, but this version is much better – everything just sounds simpler. Nakajima’s pure, clear voice gives this song a refreshing feeling. It’s more like innocent first love instead of Sheryl’s womanly wiles. May’n sings part of it in the middle – and there’s what I fondly dubbed the “singing duel section” (in which Sheryl and Ranka compete for Alto’s attention). I was surprised at how well the two voices complemented each other.

Finally, an instrumental track I like. Innocent green captures the warmth of spending time in a grassy hill with the wind and the clouds to keep one company. The repeating piano line is soothing, and when more instruments join in, it’s not some huge orchestral blast – it manages to stay peaceful without becoming dull. The strings just add to the nostalgia and heartwarming mood.

Aimo (or, as I call it, “Ranka’s lullaby”) was the main reason I snagged this OST. I’m falling more and more in love with Nakajima Megumi’s honest, devoid-of-any-embellishment voice. Aimo’s melody is a perfect requiem/lullaby one, and Nakajima sings it with wonderful serenity, backed by sparse piano, harp, and bells. I find more and more that on this soundtrack, the simpler, the better. Pity it only clocked in at 1:30, I would have loved an extended version.

Big Boys makes me want to both giggle and loop it over and over again – it’s got that ‘adventure’ feel with a tint of playfulness – and reminds me very much of a more lighthearted version of the epic string themes on the Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack. Very catchy.

I groaned at the thought of another military theme, but Private Army proves to be interesting. The rhythmic pattern formed by the percussion and guitar is wonderful. I also really like the random runs in that plucked string instrument I can’t identify (I would hazard a guess at it being a harpsichord, but I doubt it…)

SMS Shoutai no Uta ~ Ano Ko wa Alien - here we get that song the SMS soldiers sing. I always found it silly but it’s fun to listen to, given how the guys in there are singing with such gusto. And I like the little whistle in it. This would definitely be fun to watch live.

Ninjin Loves you yeah! - here, Ranka sings about carrots in yet another 1:30 mini-song. The backing is just a bunch of cute sounding techno blips to match Nakajima Megumi’s even cuter voice. It would make a good children’s song, and I think I remember Ranka advertising a vegetable stand with this while dressed in a carrot costume. This suffers the Aimo syndrome – I would like an extended version of this as well.

Oh gosh, I can’t believe they actually put this here – the Ranka Version of the Chojiku Hanten Nyan Nyan CM Song…or more accurately, just the “nyan nyan” song. The Engrish-fied bad Mandarin Chinese makes it hard for me, as a semi-fluent speaker, to keep a straight face every time I hear this – not to mention the cheesy, pseudo-Chinese music. I still love it though.

Alto’s Theme is very much along the lines of what I expected – wandering, lonely, a bit hesitant, and even elegant. The beautiful harp runs and acoustic guitar set off the wailing oboe perfectly. This piece perfectly depicts Alto’s journey in figuring out what he wants to do – the uncertain steps he takes towards following his dreams of being a pilot and breaking away from his family’s theater group.

We get one of those “let’s get ready to sortie” themes with TALLY HO! It’s yet another polished, symphony piece that should soar but…just ends up sounding anti-climactic after the beauty of Alto’s Theme. Nevertheless, it does rev up the energy and would work well in anime scenes, just it’s rather dull by itself.

Okay, The Target is a battle theme – I love how the tension builds slowly by layers. Contrast is pretty good in this one too, there’s a moment of calm somewhere past the middle, then things go back to the foreboding “impending doom” feeling – and the build up again really kept me on edge, listening. And of course, we finally vanquish the enemy in the end with that ‘crucial moment’ sound.

So it really is Bajura? (I liked the “Vajra” spelling better). Bajura is a slow-burning piece that has a bit of The Target’s foreboding feel along with some attempts at sounding sinister and spooky. Arrangement is okay, but I expected more out of a theme for a mysterious alien species…

Kira Kira means “twinkle” and the rapid, light piano, chords really sound like twinkling stars. For the most part, there’s an light, airy, almost dreamy quality in this piece which is enhanced by a darker undertone. It’s pretty, but can get a bit repetitive after all, especially in the first half. The second half with the strings gives it a ‘floating on clouds’ feeling.

Okay, I take back what I said about not having a longer version of Aimo. I forgot all about Aimo ~ Tori no Hito. It’s in a higher pitch than the original, which actually suits the floaty nature of the song more. The piano part is changed and strings are added to the arrangement. Nakajima also sings more freely, and the added bridge section is gorgeous. I’d be hard-pressed to choose one over the other – they’re beautiful in different ways.

Take Off – I can hardly tell all the catchy MF instrumental themes from each other – is it an re-iteration of another theme? Despite that, I like it, due to its liveliness…and the brass isn’t too pompous or overblown. At under 2 minutes, I wish there was a longer version of this with a fuller arrangement.

Infinity is one of Sheryl’s songs that I have mixed feelings about. I love the contrast between the minimalist accompaniment in the verses and the full-blown strings-and-all-that in the choruses, but there’s something about Infinity that just sounds so formulaic and manufactured – it would be hard for me to dissociate it from Macross Frontier. The vocals are fine, but I feel like something’s missing – I think a song like this should have gone for a higher energy level. Chorus melody is interesting and catchy enough, but the verses sound a bit limp.

And we end with Diamond Crevasse. After revisiting, I have renewed appreciation for it. And given how my music preferences have leaned toward the softer side as of late, I like this better than her showier material. but Diamond Crevasse sounds the most genuine – May’n isn’t forcing her voice as much, and the emotions flow more naturally.

Final Thoughts: Thankfully less than half the tracks are instrumentals, because the vocal works are the true saving grace of this soundtrack. Except for a few standout moments, the instrumentals were quite uninspired and boring – they sound like any old piece you’d have a symphony orchestra perform. While that appeals to a wider audience, I prefer something more distinct and unique to the anime series it’s from. Kanno does her job in that aspect with the vocal tracks (almost a little too well in some instances). There’s a good variety spread across the Sheryl and Ranka songs and Kanno writes material that not only brings out the strengths of the respective songstresses well, but also fit the characters perfectly – Sheryl’s mature, more experienced ways (as a singer and as a woman) and Ranka’s innocent, earnest, chasing-after-her-dreams personality. Unless you’re a die-hard Kanno Yoko fan, this OST will really sound like a vocal album, and the BGM is mostly just filler.

Favorite Track(s):
[vocal] Welcome To My FanClub’s Night! (Sheryl On Stage), Triangler, What ’bout my star?@Formo, Aimo, Aimo ~ Tori no Hito, Diamond Crevasse
[instrumental] Innocent green, Big Boys, Alto’s Theme

Overall Grade: B+