Review Time:
Tomoyo After Original Soundtrack
Here we have the original soundtrack to the Tomoyo arc of the infamous Clannad series. With styles ranging from lush orchestration to grungy industrial, this album captivated me and, at times, forced me to press the “skip track” button. But when all is said and done, what we’re left with is a very well produced, emotional filled soundtrack. At 21 tracks in size, it would be a bit much to review each song individually. Basically we’re looking at 3 awesome tracks, 11 good tracks, and 7 “meh” tracks.
The 3 tracks that stood out the most to me were 13, 14, and 15.
13 – Memories
Opens with a thoughtful musicbox/orgel interlude, and slowly morphs into a simple but beautiful melody between clarinet, musicbox, and strings. I loved it because of its simple inherit beauty. It’s sort of like a nostalgic reflection of one childhood. (It’s funny because I typed that before I realized the name of the track was “memories”)
14 – Love Song
Best song of the album in my opinion; A beautiful, emotional, reflective piano piece. I absolutely love that “airy reverb” tonal quality of the piano. Technically-speaking, the piano was split into multiple tracks and sent through different reverbs or “spaces” that, in turn, create a great feeling and atmosphere to accompany the gorgeous melodies.
15 – Harmony with Sorrow
I’m not exactly sure why I loved this one. It’s just a simple, well-done, and captivating piece of music, perfect for accompanying an emotional anime like Clannad. The spacing and atmosphere of the mix is perfect. Everything sounds in its place and well executed. A lush air pad carried along by simple percussion lays the foundation as various instruments weave a fabric of sound around it…
In the end, the Tomoyo After Original Soundtrack is a perfect blend of emotional and captivating music. I was a bit disappointed in a few of the tracks that didn’t fit in with the rest of the album, but once you skip past those (or delete them) the album is simply wonderful! Highly recommended!
(psst, you can find a flac rip of it on Box…)