Scott Pilgrim EX

Anamanaguchis third soundtrack for the Scott Pilgrim franchise was composed for Scott Pilgrim EX, a side-scrolling video game taking place in a futuristic Toronto ravaged by gang war. Across 71 tracks, the band takes on a multitude of styles and moods, often rooted in 8-bit chiptune but fleshed out with live instrumentation as well. In some ways, it feels like a return to the bands roots, with much of the material written on trackers while the group was on tour. At the same time, its such an ambitious score that its hard to imagine a group without decades of experience behind them having the discipline to pull it off so successfully. More than anything, its a blast to listen to, and its clear that the group was having so much fun creating the score. Tracks like "Theme from Scott Pilgrim EX" and "One More Summer" are triumphant, thrashy chip-rock anthems, and other moments delve into grunge, punk, and emo. "Shopping District," on the other hand, is lush and atmospheric, bringing to mind David Wises amazing scores for the Donkey Kong Country series. "Downtown T.O." is a slowly swaying synthwave mood piece which surprisingly goes on for six minutes. "Julie Powers" is so weird and wonky that it defies any categorization or logic, and its one of the scores most amusing tracks. The band has fun incorporating drillnbass breaks into "Ice Age" and a few other cuts, delves into a tropical motif for "The Beaches," and whips up an ecstatic frenzy with the rapid accelerations of "Playtime." They keep this energy up with the footwork-rave hybrid "VPD Boss," but abruptly change direction into medieval and circus themes. The second half of the score veers from punky thrash and industrial to a digital approximation of big-band jazz. There are also diversions into robotic electro-house and fantasy metal, as well as the sludgy hip-hop of "Katayanagi Showcase." "Epilogue 20XX" as a chiming indie rock instrumental bringing everything back home. ~ Paul Simpson