The ending from No More Heroes was disappointing as hell. To avoid spoilers for those of you haven’t finished the game (shame on you), I’ll just say it left a lot of loose ends. It comes as a surprise then that The Outer Rim’s self-titled debut album provides the perfect solution.
The Outer Rim is a Japanese band sporting a smooth “spiritual jazz” sound and epic hairstyles. The group is headed by bassist Jeff Curry (not Japanese!) and features game composer Norihiko Hibino on sax and computer, Hakuei Kim on keys, and Nobuaki Fujii on drums. While the album is dominated by catchy jazz pieces with a distinctive atmosphere, a few tracks include bits of English vocal drama featuring No More Heroes front man Travis Touchdown and co-star Silvia Christal as they describe a bleak, musicless future in outer space. And yes, they used the same voice actors from the game!
Check out our full impressions after the jump.
The opening track, titled “N.M.H The Outer Rim Remix” is actually an arrangement of the No More Heroes main theme, sporting a gritty rock edge alongside Hibino’s commanding sax. “A False Sense…” is my personal favorite, giving a spacey, atmospheric approach to the traditional jazz formula. Another track titled “Coleman’s Cliff” is a loungey piece that describes a popular suicide spot. The final track, “In Peace” is a contemporary jazz track co-written by the whole group that provides a beautiful and contemplative closer to this unique journey.
I really dig this album, although I admit I tend to love anything that is jazz. I highly recommend checking out the band’s Myspace for a generous preview of the album. Fortunately CD Baby is stocking the album for those who enjoy what they hear. It’s also available at CD Japan and Play Asia. This album is an interesting experiment in cross-promotion between music and games. What do you think about the potential use of game tie-ins to promote original music or using original music to promote games?
Here’s a YouTube video of The Outer Rim performing live at Vanilla Mood Roppongi
[…] I noticed that Hibino and the members of his band, The Outer Rim (who we are also huge fans of), each have distinctive hair styles. Do the hair styles at GEM Impact vary as drastically as those […]