"Seru banget"

Suspect: Various Artists
Exhibit: Janji Joni OST
Price To Pay: RM 30.50
Crime Scene: Music Magic, Central Market, Kuala Lumpur


"Hmm.. Media Distorsi? Goodnight Electric? White Shoes & The Couples Company? Zeke & The Popo?! Who the hell are they?!"

Exactly.

In a time where soundtracks coming from our jiran seberang are mostly dominated by top-selling acts, Melly and her cohorts, career-revived pop stars and power-ballad veterans, it does grab your attention seeing a bunch of unknowns featured in this one. Filled with up-and-coming stalwarts of almost any thinkable genre (mostly sung in English, a pleasant surprise indeed), it's rest assured that your current state of mind on the Indo music scene will never be the same again.

Joni (played by Nicolas Saputra) pretty much start things off with a short excerpt from the movie before making way for The Adams' hook-laden, morning-breakfast anthem, Waiting. If there's anyone missing the presence of the award-winning duo that is Juliet The Orange, one listen to Ape On The Roof's Puzzle affirms the fact that there is hope for laidback-pop out there -if not on our shores- albeit being more adventurous. Picking up the pace while slightly shifting the mood from chirpy to upbeat-melancholia at a drop of a hat is Sore's Funk The Hole, charging your unevoked senses with their brand of march-inflicted tune and soaring, emotive vocals.

Apart from Teenage Death Star's thrashy garage number (I Got) Johnny In My Head, Sajama Cut's straight-up, power-pop Less Afraid and The Jonis's New Pornographers-meets-The Doors Do The Cobra, Zeke & The Popo delivered a somber, more brooding effort with 1.1 Trillion Woodcutters and I Novel giving the ever-critical indie crowd something to rave about. Those familiar with Laluna's style of retro-swing might find White Shoes & The Couples Company neatly tucked in their hearts with the Call and Response-ish Senandung Maaf. The inclusion of jazz collective Tomorrow People Ensemble adds spices of haute cuisine in the mix with Step Ahead For Freedom.

While all the mentioned acts has got the freewheelin', rockin' & rollin' part covered, what's left for IDM junkies and bedroom disc jockeys are nothing short of 'engaging' with Media Distorsi leading the pack through its spine-crushing, heavy electronica mish-mash number, The Army Returns. Goodnight Electric is the outfit to lookout for if you think the idea of Dave Gahan fronting the subtle Pet Shop Boys seems majestic. Bedroom Avenue is just pure new wave it makes you wanna tap those feet, turn up the heat and dance the night away.

With musical scores (Setan Kredit, Satu Waktu) and more dialogue excerpts from the film closing the gap, it makes this soundtrack a cohesive effort despite its expected shortcomings. Originality might obviously be one of it but traces of innovative craftsmanship may well be this lot's saving grace. Still, it is the best of its kind. Since we have a lot more to offer, here's hoping that our local boys and girls will eventually follow suit.



Reviewed by:
Farhan bin Fadzlishah