Theta - Street
World, New Age
Lleida, Spain
Overall Impression: Thoroughly absorbing and bursting with a level of intensity that grips you from the very beginning all the way to the very end, "Short" is a cavalcade of melodic intensity and textural exploration that fuses cacophonous sound design elements, anxiety-inducing melodic ferocity, and tense harmonic exploration to great effect. Theta displays a clear passion for orchestral music and has creatively arranged this powerful sounding composition in a way that ensures listeners are kept continually captivated throughout.
Strongest Point(s): This is a strikingly intense composition, and this certainly works in the track's favor. The use of chromaticism and clashing tones is well implemented and really helps give "Short" its tense and hard-hitting edge. The instrumentation is well-chosen and brilliantly diverse, the combination of piercing strings, haunting choir, flamboyant brass, militaristic percussion, and angular sounding piano parts ensures there's a multitude of varying tonal color on display, and as a further result, there are plenty of compelling sounds for the listener to get swept up by. Instrumental interplay plays an integral role in "Short" and I really like the way call and response is used to create a great sense of dynamism in the music, the back and forth musical conversation that the strings and brass engage in from 0:38 for example help create this fantastic sense of opposing force in the instrumentation that really catapults intensity levels through the roof. With regards to melody and harmony, "Short" has a deliciously ominous dark quality to it that makes fantastic use of clashing tones, chromatic movement, and thematic juxtaposition that keeps listeners firmly on their toes throughout.
Target Audience Appeal: This certainly has strong film and video game soundtrack vibes and I'm sure lovers of these types of soundtracks will find "Short" to be a thoroughly engaging listening experience.
Artist target suggestions: Danny Elfman, Nobuo Uematsu, Hanz Zimmer, Alan Silvestri, Martin O'Donnell, Jesper Kyd, Steven Price, John Williams, Vangelis, Ludwig Goransson
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About the Reviewer:
Andre Avanessian is a freelance session musician, composer, and sound engineer based in the U.K. Having studied music production and composition at a degree level, he has taken his passion for all things audio-related to a level that has allowed him to become both a competent musician and performer. Being a self-confessed "Guitar Nerd" Andre has been continually studying the guitar, as well as teaching it, helping students both learn the instrument, develop their songwriting, and how to become proficient in home recording.