🦅 The Falconeer Vinyl Soundtrack Review - Wired Productions 🦅 #Vinyl #VideoGameVinyl @WiredP @Withnailmarwood

Purchase Link:

https://shop.wiredproductions.com/products/the-falconeer-vinyl-soundtrack-2xlp

The vinyl soundtrack to one-man indie developer Tomas Sala’s 2020 release The Falconeer is a somewhat different beast from the type of soundtracks that I usually cover here at GF HQ.

Whilst it is traditional insomuch as it contains 31 tracks from the game, it also contains several passages carefully woven into the music that acts as spoken word accompaniments, allowing the listener to follow the narrative journey of the game in audio format.

The more I listened to the record, the more I came to view it as a hybrid release of soundtrack and audiobook, telling a tale through both the medium of majestic song and richly delivered spoken word segments.

This is the first vinyl release from Wired Productions, and the design and product itself make a great impression. Wrapped in an obi strip, and comprised of high-quality materials, also including a four-page colour booklet filled with key information, it’s clear that no corners have been cut in terms of production and style.

A double gatefold release, The Falconeer has striking cover art – courtesy of Haley Wakefield – which features the title character swooping through darkened skies ripped through with crackling lightning. The background art is matte, whilst the falcon itself is slightly embossed and glossy, the contrast of different shades of blue really makes the red wings of the falcon pop from the page. The rear of the cover continues the watercolour style, this time a top-down shot – again, aerial – that captures the Warbird gliding down to one of the towns in the game world. Surrounded by water, and with a central water feature around which lies a seemingly idyllic township at night, it’s a much more calming image than the high-energy illustration on the cover. 

Opening up the sleeve shows another side to the visuals, rich with hues of yellows and orange, the centre gatefold is a dusky and fantastical landscape that encapsulates creatures of impossible size; rocky outcrops; a shimmering, setting sun; and silhouetted airships in the distance. As we’ll find out, these three moods - caught here visually - will also make up the cleverly shifting, dreamy moods of the tracks that make up the album.

The obi strip is quite classy in how swirls of watercolour reds make up the majority of the front of the slip, with the game logo and a simple compositional credit to Benedict Nichols (OMNO, Before We Leave) across the top, the rear of the strip has the 31 track titles listed, as well the US and European barcodes included – perfect for the Discogs users among us. It was a great idea to have this information included on the obi strip, as it allows the covers full reign for visual expression, and as such – aside from the spine of the record, the covers are bereft of text and are pure art.

Inside the sleeve, you’ll find the aforementioned four-page booklet, this reminds me of Wayo Records’ releases, and I personally welcome them, as they give such important information and background on the creation of the album. Here, for example, a watery port is shown as well as an introduction from Wired Productions, explaining why they chose to release the album in vinyl format and some further information on the styles of music used as well as celebrating the achievements of the release. The rear of the booklet shows fiery lava spurting forth from darkened mountains, over which are some comments and words of thanks from composer Benedict Nichols and creator Tomas Sala on the release.

Opening up the booklet shows a high shot of an in-game location ensconced in darkness, the left-hand side of the booklet lists the track list along with the running times. The right-hand side contains the text of the spoken word segments, a nice touch I thought – as the listener can read through, keeping the narrative journey in mind as the album unfolds.

The records themselves are in heavy-duty card sleeves, the release comes in two variants – sea azure blue, and sea green – of which I have the sea-green version. The inner labels feature The Falconeer logo and more forked lightning across the skies, reminiscent of the album cover image.

As with Shapeshift Records’ Gotham ’89 – the fact that this is the first release from Wired Productions really is impressive, the product as a whole feels robust and the thought given to the various design elements is welcomed, I’m a sucker for an informative booklet! Onto the track-by-track breakdown.

Side 1

1. The Ursee (Part 1) (feat. Tegen Hitchens) – It’s clear from track one that things are different here, the husky tones of Tegen Hitchens readout the monologue stated in the accompanying booklet, setting the scene amidst the backdrop of swirling ambience. It really sets the epic tone for the upcoming album.

2. Screams of Battle – Very much a battle sequence in aural form! Huge, tribal drums pound out, echoing across the skies as quick bouzouki strums and vocalisations meld expertly with harsh synth lines, a concoction of the organic and the electronic that calls to mind the work of Jon Everist, but with a bigger focus on bombast. I was getting faint Witcher 3 vibes from this track, those drums are so gratifying here, it feels like they are trying to fight their way out of the speakers to club you to death in your own living room. Good.

3. This Cold Unending Blighted Landscape – The somewhat downbeat title may lead you to think that this could be a misery-laden part of the album, but it’s actually a lot prettier than the title lets on. Milky violin over reedy, expansive ambience leads to a rising, keening that almost has an Eastern vibe. It calls to mind someone on a foggy mountaintop playing a lost hymn into the far-reaching cosmos. Melancholic and beautiful.

4. Minor Skirmish – Those drums come hurtling back in, as does the blend of buzzy synth lines alongside tension-fraught chord work on the bouzouki, very much a continuance of Screams of Battle. 

5. Monks and Miners – choral vocals and distant flute backed by violin give a mellow start to this one. The primal, hymnal chanting giving a humbleness to the track. The percussion, still powerful – but more muted here plays a slow, plodding march alongside metallic clangs. The synth is present but used to add punchy layering to the percussive moments, a throbbing heartbeat.

6. Pesky Marauders – Another drum-led track that pulses with the blood flow of battle. Busier drum work this time, with a popping snare at the centre. More guttural vocal moments pepper the track, as the bouzouki returns to add tension but also to dance around the drum rolls. Strings give the sense of a larger, more regal sensibility of scale to the fight.

7. Port Remit – A couple of moments of respite as dusty, reverberating strings and a more casual bouzouki plays underneath a subtler beat than in Pesky Marauders. Occasionally a woodwind instrument that sounds almost like a warlike didgeridoo will cut through, and it’s extremely effective at adding a ‘war cry’ to the tone of the album and is used to effect throughout, very primal and pumping.

8. Sacred Steps – Akin to Monks and Miners, Sacred Steps focuses on choral chanting set to the melodic ringing of a bell, as if this is a time of religion and reverence. As the choir drifts away, the violin and strings play a sad and raw descending melody that has a soft underbelly, marked with casual beats that play out the first side of the record.

Side 2

9.   Pirate Hordes – The drums once again aren’t holding back, the Mongolian throat-singing mentioned in the booklet is also in full force, opening the track. That razor-like synth cuts through as the bouzouki chimes out an instancy that propels the song forwards. Each of the songs so far that act as battle themes really have a cohesive theme to them, a power that soars above the waves.

10. The Freebooters Lament – Cut-glass, angelic vocals soar above softly washing synth lines in The Freebooters Lament. A song of loss, the low bass notes ring out and remind me how much of this album is dreamily wrapped in echoing emotional power, whether it be in the more intense moments or here, where simple, eloquent beauty is taking centre stage. There’s an organic echoing bleed that really does capture the sense of the huge, open spaces that the game provides as if these scenes were captured in the very nature of The Falconeer.

11. Spymaster's March (feat. Mikee Goodman) – I personally found Mikee Goodman’s voice a touch too ‘put on’, but nonetheless, the gravelly tones act as a great counterpoint to Tegen Hitchens’ more breathy delivery, and this track also contains one of my favourite noises on the album, the shimmering percussion that rhythmically gets single notes marked at the start of each bar.

12. Filthy Wretched Freebooters – Tribal percussion once again fills the air, as violins flit throughout the track below the punctuations of horn blasts, all working together to create a kinetic and frantic musical sequence.

13. Welcome to Westgate (feat. Tegen Hitchens) – Blasts of echoing bagpipe, hypnotic beats and slowly epic undertones mark the monologue here, a cold and wet melancholy of regret and realisation, shot through with pulses of synth.

14. Finest Steel – A continuation of tracks such as Pirate Hordes and Pesky Marauders, the buzzing synth has more prominence here, taking up almost as much space as those monumental drums, a brief track - but there are some really great moments that shine through despite the short duration.

15. Northern Whalers (feat. Tegen Hitchens) – A shorter narration takes place here before low, rumbling bass notes follow the vocalisations of a chanting choir. Hand-percussion plays out alongside languid, simple tribal tom beats accentuated by keening violin lines. For me, though, the low cello notes that follow the vocals are very impactful and rich, standing out in the track.

Side 3

16. The Ursee (Part 2) (feat. Tegen Hitchens) – Swelling atmospherics and pulsing bass underscores Tegen’s foreboding narration here, these monologues really do give the album a mixed-media feel, a swirl of audio and narration that gives a cool audiobook vibe, adding colour and depth to the lore of the world of The Falconeer

17. Cleftspire – Lonely instrumentation rings out over moody percussion, quite a stripped-back intro that slows and opens up as if the true weight of what is at stake dawns in a grim and yet defiant realisation. The gentle pitch shifts in the lead melodic bagpipe line really strike home here - subtle, and inventive.

18. Enter the Fray – That heavy, low-end synth and energetic strings sections return, galloping alongside the drums and melodic leads. If the previous track was a dawning realisation, this is certainly a defiant charge into the fray.

19. Battle Fleets Grow (feat. Tegen Hitchens) – A continuation of the mood set down in The Ursee (Part 2), expounding upon the tone by adding a solid, marching beat over which various layers of percussion make their mark, lead along by the bagpipe, which runs throughout this side of the record. This also features some really wonderful and emotive violin work.

20. Calls Across the Maw – A mellowing of the mood to a more subtle and ambient style, as if capturing the imagery of someone surveying a landscape. The use of that bagpipe effect colours the record with a real sense of rugged, harsh, and yet beautifully natural environments.

21. Atun's Folly (bonus track) – A short bonus track – the first of two included on this vinyl version, Atun’s Folly is quite an epic number, full of stocky percussion, masculine choral vocals and stabbing violins.

22. The Great Vaults – at just a shade under four and a half minutes, The Great Vaults is one of the longer tracks on the album, and brings in electronic synth work, blending with the more human elements, such as an expressive female vocal and shimmering strings laid over a rumbling bass end. I do like the moments where the synth cuts through, its relatively minimal use on the track adds a punch. The organ that builds along with the vocal makes this a majestic and somewhat ominous part of the album.

23. Abandoned Observatories (feat. Tegen Hitchens) - The final track of the third side again features the now familiar voice of Tegen Hitchens relaying the situation and plot points at this juncture in the narrative, a more ethereal and - dare I say it - upbeat and positive musical ambience supports this delivery.

Side 4

24. We Ride the Ancient Weaver – No time is wasted here, as acrobatic, and incredibly impressive vocals launch us into the track, they dominate the song and are accentuated by snappy percussion and some tasty organ work. A hell of a wake-up call! 

25. The Reach Awakes (feat. Mikee Goodman) – The growling tones of Mikee Goodman return to tell us of the rising stakes and awful crimes committed as we move towards the final stages of the record in what is the longest track on the whole album, at just under five minutes. After his narration fades, rumbling drums and powerful choral vocals portend the crescendo of the tale.

26. Basilicus Exitium – A continuation of The Reach Awakes, similar instrumentation kicks everything up a notch, adding to that sensibility of the story hurtling towards an epic climax.

27. What is That?! – Again, a further rise in urgency as the tension and stakes ramp up, a track that doesn’t let up or let go.

28. Deep Underground – A drift away from the cavalcade of the previous couple of tracks, we are back to more sombre ground here, as a sole, angelic vocal reaches out from the darkness over soft atmospherics, a quiet respite away from the escalating fury of the world. 

29. The Path (feat. Mikee Goodman & Carolina Styles) - The culmination of the narrative is imminent, and the slow, precise delivery of Mikee Goodman here is fraught with the weight of the world.

30. The Free and the Fallen (feat. Tegen Hitchens) – On this, the penultimate track of the album, Tegen Hitchens delivers a powerful and lengthy monologue that – oddly – isn’t the exact wording on the accompanying text. That said, it brings the narrative arc of our tale to its conclusion, satisfyingly.

31. The Door to Nowhere (bonus track) (feat. Tegen Hitchens) - The second bonus track, it acts as a coda to the main narrative by having a musical denouement following Tegen’s monologue. The words and music hint at further adventures in the world of The Falconeer.

Purchase Link:

https://shop.wiredproductions.com/products/the-falconeer-vinyl-soundtrack-2xlp