SHIFT UP‘s Stellar Blade soundtrack turned out to be one in all my favourites of 2024, taking me unexpectedly with its mix of latest standard music genres, electronics, and experimentation. I really like the way it strikes from mellow atmospheric items to mid-tempo ambient pop to full-blown electro-bangers. You’d suppose after ten hours of music I may need had my fill, however right here I’m to check out the Stellar Blade Authentic Soundtrack PLUS—a bonus pack of 16 further songs that, for one cause or one other, weren’t included within the unique launch. Do these maintain up in opposition to the principle OST?
Issues begin off unexpectedly subdued with “Lullaby of a Secret,” that includes breathy French vocals by Pernelle. It swells and calms like the ocean, washing out and in with gliding strings punctuated by piano. Definitely a really fairly starting, adopted up by “Simply Superb,” one other vocal monitor (this time in English) lead by Pealeaf and a calming acoustic guitar. This one has a stunning summery vibe and is my favorite of the 2 feminine vocal tracks.
In true Stellar Blade vogue, the calm temper doesn’t final lengthy in any respect. Observe 3 hits you want a truck—“Mann (Section 1)” switches gears right into a rock/steel/industrial collision that doesn’t let up in its three-and-a-half-minute runtime, and certainly “Mann (Section 2)” retains this power going however with a extra drum ’n’ bass flavour. “Scarlet (Section 1)” and “(Section 2)” go for a chic digital pop sound with orchestral prospers, and whereas “(Section 1)” sounds slightly lacklustre, (Section 2) is unbelievable, with some very attention-grabbing beat modifications all through that add only a trace of chaos and edge to an in any other case very pristine-sounding monitor.
“Battle Droid’ and “Boss Problem” are the final two absolutely new tracks right here. The previous fuses a dance beat, a easy vocal line, slight rock influences, and slightly gothy choral pattern—I assume there’s no such factor as an excessive amount of, eh? The latter might be probably the most ‘conventional’ online game music-sounding piece right here, and I don’t imply that in a damaging manner. It’s really fairly nice to have a monitor with a less complicated format to behave as one thing of a palate cleanser. “Boss Problem” begins because it means to go on, and in context right here, that’s refreshing!
The second half of PLUS is nearly fully dedicated to instrumental variations of assorted tracks from throughout the broader OST. They’re all fairly good, however in the event you’ve heard the unique variations then you recognize what you’re going to get with these. I like that SHIFT UP has chosen a spread of various types to get the instrumental remedy right here, from calmer tracks highlighting orchestral work to ones with a sooner bpm that showcase the digital aspect of the OST. I notably benefit from the deep, pulsing beat in “Blur” and the jazzy, city-pop stylings of “Take Me Away”, however total, I’m undecided how important these instrumental variations are. Would I miss them in the event that they weren’t on the OST? Most likely not.
The bonus monitor is a brand new model of “Flooded Business Sector,” a spotlight from the unique OST, now in instrumental jazz type. Equally to the opposite instrumental tracks, I prefer it, however not over the unique. Sadly, I believe I’m unlikely to revisit the second half of PLUS fairly often. The primary half is one other matter. You get all the pieces that made the unique OST so good distilled into eight tracks—style switching at breakneck pace, clashes between the digital and the human, and only a actually thrilling experience.
Stellar Blade Authentic Soundtrack PLUS, in addition to the sport’s big unique soundtrack, can be found for streaming and buy wherever you discover music.
