Kirite

Kirite is a combined effort between Yasunori Mitsuda and Chrono series producer/writer Masato Kato. It adds a musical illustration to the accompanying novel Kato wrote, "Five Seasons of Kirite", which tells the story of a boy named Kirite, and the girl Kotonoha. The music plays out like Mitsuda's other standalone non-game albums such as Sailing to the World, with a gentle introduction comprised mainly of explorations of the album's main theme, followed by an element of mystery and unveiling, then capped by dynamic battle-style pieces and closed off with what amounts to an ending theme. Indeed, the album progresses much like your average videogame soundtrack. Kirite features vocals by Eri Kawai, whose voice intertwines the music in a way reminiscent of the latter songs of Xenogears (notably, The Beginning and the End). The style of music is typical Mitsuda fare, with a strong Irish influence and heavy focus on violins and guitars. Certainly, it feels like an album one should be listening to on a summer afternoon. All in all, the atmosphere you will find here is comparable to that of Chrono Cross, which isn't surprising considering Kato's involvement and Mitsuda's desire to return to that universe in the Chrono Cross arrange album later in 2005. BOOYA