Moon Pride
Click to viewThe new Sailor Moon Crystal opening is performed by Momoiro Clover Z, and written by Sound Horizon composer Revo. Guitar is once again provided by Marty Friedman.
It's also been stuck in my head all day, so I pulled it up for another few loops today, and damn, the music theory on this one seems so devious.
I have a not-so-sneaking suspicion that there's a Royal Road variation in there somewhere.
The verse starts as a throwback to the old Moonlight Densetsu style, including the classic idol pre-chorus. I can hear the fanchants from here.
Except that pre-chorus 1 leads into pre-chorus 2, (Otome Sensou's structure is a little more expansive, but it's more like having two choruses, with parts doubling as secondary hooks, than two pre-choruses) and pre-chorus 2 ends on a transition that, by all idol music accounts, should have made for a key-change into the chorus. (48G singles especially likes to abuse that technique.) The little arrangement sting that is the pre-chorus 2 transition into the chorus is actually a different key, except that the chorus bounces right back into the original key WTF why did they do that then.
Oooh, definitely getting Royal Road vibes from both the verse and chorus. Then they have the key-change for the second chorus section, before dropping back into the original key for the ending hook, and lawdy what is that chord they picked to resolve the hook on that is not the tonic or any standard resolution chord.
Fucking ridiculous.
Add to that the immense amounts of bass guitar, the bubblegum maximalist arrangement with all of the furious strings, gratuitous guitar, double-time drums, bells/chimes, wind chimes/sparklies, GLISSANDOS FOR EVERY INSTRUMENT, and general Wall of Sound goodness you could want, concluding in a "we sing more harmony than SNSD" melodic hook, and I'm totally gone. Head over heels. Over the moon, you might say. XP
Dat Royal Road, though. Good thing Royal Road is one of my weaknesses. Can't help but like a good Royal Road song.