Plaza Mayor Company Ltd release Yoshihiro Hanno's original score for Le Lycéen [Winter Boy]. In the movie, a 17-year-old high school student is trying to get to grips with the new challenges posed by death, life, the city and "the temptation of renouncement"...

While, on balance, I really enjoyed the sweet, mellow themes contained within Yoshihiro Hanno soundtrack for Le Lycéen, I was a little disappointed that some of the tracks were spoiled by having dialogue from the movie played over them. To my mind, the entire point of a score is that you can hear the composer's music without dialogue or sound effects from the film. While I know that some soundtracks feel it's important to include dialogue to give the album a little focus and context, personally I find this just spoils the enjoyment of the music.

The album contains 8 tracks (36 min, 32 sec) of sweet, melancholic themes that are perfect to chill out to. Hanno proves here that he's adept at getting under the listener's skin and delivering an emotionally charged, yet incredibly subtle collection of themes.

7

Darren Rea