Lena Raine – Celeste Original Soundtrack

Beautiful soundtrack in a largely solid pressing, but it is a soundtrack where I had to take some time to settle. A good portion of tracks have long passages to focus on their ambiance before delivering on the slick beats. Said passages is also why this vinyl release had to be truncated from its digital album, omitting two tracks and shortening a few others due to space limitations. "Reach For The Summit" is the most extreme example, cutting down an 11-minute escalation piece into a 3-minute compilation. But give Lena Raine her dues, the short version of Summit sounds complete enough that I don't notice its omissions, and her alterations are virtually seamless.

In making a progressive hip-hop sound with chilling acoustics, it has the contemporary mood of a haunted house tale with an undercurrent of human anxiety. Having not played the game, I'm only familiar with its subject matter, which is frankly a dime-a-dozen with this industry. Still, the music has this operatic tone that virtually tells the story from its melodies so I feel for the intents that game wants to express. How can anyone not feel the lows ("In The Mirror") and highs ("Confronting Myself") that covers Side C to Side D? I do feel rewarded listening to the entire album in go, and that's likely how it's meant to be listened on the score's own.

{extra anecdotes}

- Can't help but wonder if Aivi & Surasshu is an influence for Raine's music. There's a familiar sound with the way the duo and her mix harmonious piano pieces with video-gamey themes depending on the set pieces.

- Disappointed that STS uses paper sleeves to store these LPs. It wasn't long ago that I complained about this with Laced Records' "The Talos Principle" and hoped it wouldn't happen again so shortly. Always thought VGM LPs serve a norm for using poly-lined sleeves, but I was wrong.