Standing Alone In The Complex

I’ve given a good listen to the second Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex OST by Yoko Kanno (with various collaborators). Overall, it’s pretty good. The sound is a bit different from the first OST (and definitely different from the truly weird Be Human release). It feels a lot like several sounds from her work on the soundtracks from other series. A couple of songs (“Ride on Technology” and “3tops”) wouldn’t sound out of place in Cowboy Bebop. The song “Pet Food” sounds like an unreleased track from a Wolfs Rain soundtrack. These are combined with songs that are reminiscent of ones on the first OST (“Rise”) and songs that are all their own (“I Can’t Be Cool”). I’m also reminded of songs from others. “Cyberbird” reminds me a lot of the song “Battersea” by Hooverphonic. Also, Kanno continues her penchant for vocals in various languages. In addition to Japanese (duh) there are also vocals in English, Russian, and Italian.

Even as many tracks remind me of other stuff I’ve heard from Yoko Kanno (and others), it doesn’t mean that they suck. Hardly. This is still a very solid soundtrack filled with wonderful songs. It’s not the explosion of creativity found in something like the Arjuna soundtrack, but it’s very good music....and I hope there’s a Ghost In The Shell Stand Alone Complex OST 3.