Luck Rock’s “Between the Stars and the Sea” is musical storytelling straight from the heart. Lyrical beauty paired with conversational-style vocals and pared-down instrumentation highlight the heart’s search for meaning, purpose, and guidance originating from someone or something beyond ourselves. The stars hold forth the hope of eternity and guiding light from above, while the sea’s drifting depths and punishing waves call these into question. Luck Rock’s almost journalistic-style lyrics help us realize that we’re not alone in our quest for meaning, purpose, and light from above and encourage us to keep looking up when feeling caught between the stars and the sea.
Misc
Ethan Toavs – Soaring | Orchestral
Ethan Toavs has delivered us once more a lovely and amazing orchestral tune! This time, his track enters the fray with Rainbow Dash! The melody SOARS across your ears with joy, excitement, and pure determination! And to think that this was composed within an hour; now THAT is what I consider truly talented. And you can hear the focus and precision Ethan has put in this song, just like how Rainbow Dash spreads her wings and races across the sky! I also like the Top Gun / Ace combat musical elements that have been put into this composition. Well done, Ethan! Massive props to you!
Vylet Pony – i’ve still got something to teach you | Prog Pop
Editor’s note: what even is genre?
I adore story-telling, whether it be through music, miniature table-top games, or movies. The magic of experiencing how someone sees and builds their world is a wonderful experience. This is why I’m ABOLUTELY HYPED for Vylet Pony’s new upcoming album “Fish Whisperer”! Vylet takes her projects like this song in a truly magical and amazing direction! Dare I say, this is a(nother) magnum opus of hers! The sudden switches, the majestic vocals, the mood and ambience elevating higher and higher; it’s truly amazing! Canni Trout isn’t bluffing when our lovely fish friend says that there is SOOO MUCH to show, experience, feel and, of course, to learn. Thank you for this wonderful lesson, Canni!
Jyc Row – Year Of The Tiger | Orchestral
Jyc Row’s orchestral output has been consistent as ever over the first month of 2022, and now he’s welcomed in the Chinese new year with this track created for the Equestria Spring Festival Celebration, an online convention based in China. With some appropriate use of erhu alongside soaring strings and steady percussion it gives a lovely uplifting vibe to help welcome the new year.
[P@D] 4EverfreeBrony – Who Named Us | Rock
A question to all who have read Fall Out Equestria, what feelings do Lil Pip’s journeys invoke in you as you read with her struggle in the wastelands? It is no surprise that 4everfreebrony knows how to beautifully tap into those emotions which make FoE so impactful. The deep, gritty southern guitar and the bass boom hit you dead in your soul, as does the swift and dead-eye solo. The vocals add some punch, serving as a warning that it’s about to get rough and bloody. The fight of “it’s you or them” has never sounded so solemn yet grand on P@D: Aurora. As always, this Qilin asks you to judge for yourself.
Jyc Row – Together, Our Hearts Will Beat Again | Orchestral
Jyc Row is known for his amazing orchestral works and his phenomenal storytelling skills through music. So you can imagine how HYPED I was when a new INFINITE ECLIPSE track was uploaded. The thing is, this track is a finale; and when we talk about finales, we talk about delivering THE cherry on the top. This is a challenging task for anyone, but Jyc ABSOLUTELY delivers. And oooh~ my lord, does that cherry on top taste GOOD! If this part of the story is so good, who knows what the future has in store?! I hope you are as hooked as I am to this song with its loving build-up and the epic out-of-this-world melodies. I truly recommend y’all show Jyc some love, and support this track and his projects!
Elias Frost – Stories Vol. I [Remake] | Orchestral / Folk
Concept albums have a storied place in this fandom, and Elias Frost is no stranger to going all-in on telling a great story. Recreating and expanding on his Stories Vol. I album from 2017, Elias uses brilliantly composed orchestration to tell the expanded story of Hearth’s Warming. The tale begins with the night before Princess Platinum’s official coronation as ruler and goes all the way through the events of the Hearth’s Warming story. Each track tells a chapter in the tale, and is encapsulating if you read along with the soundtrack! A few of the standout tracks are teased after the break below!
Bedtime Stories Prologue is the opening track on the album, and it starts off soft and mystical, growing into a joyous fanfare, and fades out with a soft, folkish atmosphere – foreboding stories to come.
Sky Legio: While the pegasi ignore Princess Platinum’s coronation ceremony (there’s no cider), the mighty tribe are busy fighting off storm clouds to keep the joyous skies clear. This track portrays adversity with powerful, war-like percussion while pairing the struggle with soaring melodies expressed through the wide array of orchestral instrumentation.
Terra Nova: The penultimate track takes us from the illusion of new peace to the reemergence of the Wendigos in an apparent ice apocalypse to the realization of how to save all of ponykind. Great orchestration is displayed in the early joyousness and bright melodies, followed with a fluid transition to sudden terror and solemnity.
Brilliant albums with high-quality production and professional-level composition don’t come out very often. Compound that with how Elias clearly thought through each track so carefully and you’ve got a must-hear masterpiece!
Night Blaze – A Ponygrad | Orchestral
Night Blaze clearly puts a lot of thought and effort into their music. Delving deep into both world history and pony fanfiction, A Ponygrad is a gorgeous orchestral piece utilizing both soothing string instruments and powerful drums to create a wholly fulfilling experience. The heartbeat syncopation in the percussion hits deep within your chest while the rest of the instrumentation gently floats you away to the unified pony city – or ponygrad!
Ethan Toavs – Canterlot Fanfare | Orchestral
Ethan Toavs brings us a short orchestral tune that wonderfully lives up to the name “Canterlot Fanfare”. With a delightful attention grabbing intro, this song really shows off the excitement of the capital of Equestria, and makes you feel like you’re out for a day around the town.
MathematicPony – Dealbreaker (Redux) | Pop
If you know anything about MathematicPony, you’ll know how gorgeous she sounds in the original Dealbreaker. This redux highlights so much of her growth over the six years since: incredibly captivating composition, with mesmerizing ebb & flow; absolutely beautiful vocals, expertly capturing the pain and confusion Twilight feels; and of course, putting such a new spin on a pony classic that conveys a whole plethora of new emotion and tension. Lots more goodies to come from MathematicPony too, so stay tuned!
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