3 out of 5

Label: Data Discs

Produced by: Shaun Crook (vinyl master)

There are a lot tracks that kill on Policenauts: dense, jazzy affairs with a lot of moody flourish and sudden dots of surprising nuance and effects; it’s what you could hope for from an evolved variant of the chiptune masters.  But there are an equal amount of tracks that, y’know, don’t kill, that just sort of coast on breezy cool mood, and come across as easy listening fare more than a soundtrack I want to listen to.  Divvied up across 38 tracks, while the split is probably even, it becomes harder to solidify memories of the good over the average.  The sequencing helps / hurts: while the A-side has the landmark whirlwind of Opening Title “Old L.A. 2040”, the rest of the side – and much of the C-side, especially – fall into this trap or more repetitive, simplistic tunes, or variations on the Policenauts theme.  The B-side and D-side are pretty damn solid, though, and that’s the rub: while you’re in the midst of any given side, you’re surrounded by tracks that set the same tone.  So if you only listen to a side at a time, you’re opinion will be swayed, instead of given room to breathe and your brain to think on things by a sequencing that bounces back and forth between standout moments and filler.

One thing I can say for sure, though, as a sequel to Snatcher, Policenauts (the score) is definitely superior: the whole glitzy jazz thing is on Snatcher as well, but the Konami crew kept jumping between bop and drama in a way that undermined everything.  Policenauts, meanwhile, is almost entirely of a poppier tone.  Yes, there are shades of gray along the way, but it’s pretty damn upbeat through and through; it’s undeniably consistently head-bobby stuff.

While I’m a bit disappointed that Data Discs has finally dipped into the Konami well (KKC are such a high-profile nab for every other videogame music label, I kinda dug that Data Discs found their own vein of styles to tap), they gave the release their usual quality dress: fine packaging with an expansive booklet, and a wonderfully clear master from Shaun Crook.