Follow the “Moonlight Signpost” – Stereopony’s Darker Than Black Theme

The all-female rock trio from Okinawa, “Stereopony,” has been pumping out hit singles, including TV anime and film themes, for the past four years. Today, we take a deeper look at one such theme to get a taste for Stereopony’s particular sound.

The theme song single in question is “Tsukiakari no Michishirube” (trans. “Moonlight Signpost”), which is the opening theme for the second season of Darker Than Black (the season has its own title: Ryusei no Gemini). Included on the single’s disc are two B-sides, and we’ll be talking about them as well.

Can this all-female group bring the noise, or will they drown in a sea of producers and executives trying desperately to keep them sounding chipper and radio-friendly? Find out after the jump!

You’ve heard variants of the chorus to “Tsukiakari no Michishirube” dozens of times in your life. IV V I, then IV V vi, then a variant with secondary dominants, and then eventually resolving on vi or I. It’s a great chord progression for a mid-tempo “contemporary rock” piece.

But even though the song has a dime-a-dozen chord progression, the two ways in which the song stands out are, in my opinion, as follows:

First, the drummer has some excellent fills in the verses. She’s not doing much of anything special in any repeat of the chorus, but the verses… yeah. It’s the sort of thing where you nod your head to the beat, but then you throw your head to the side when the drummer accents certain off beats. I love that kind of stuff.

Second, the prescribed vocal melody and harmonies are perfect. Not just perfect in the “pitch-perfect, ultra-clean radio-friendly” sense. It’s also perfect in terms of composition. There’s just enough variation in the melodic line to keep it interesting, but otherwise it’s solid. So while I do find that much of the song is a wash, these two things stand out as important keys to enjoying the song, and perhaps all of this band’s repertoire. Let’s see if my hypothesis holds true through two B-Sides.

The first B-Side is “Daidaiiro” (trans. “Orange-ish Color”). First thing I note when listening? You guessed it: extremely common chord progressions. It’s difficult hearing the same basic song over and over. Just drop the over-use of vi and start putting ii in its place at times, and you have your song. I appreciate rock groups that are willing to screw around with diminished chords, non-traditional chord progressions, etc. And if those artists can make it mainstream, what’s the point of churning out more of the same Pachelbel’s Canon-clone bands?

But again, even though the song is terribly boring in its base composition and structure, the melodic vocal performance sure can hold your attention. I know it held mine. Here we find simple up-and-down, wave-like melodies, something like the verse of a Taylor Swift song (yes, I like Ms. Swift, what of it?).

My favorite of the three tracks on the album is the shortest: “fuzz.” I assume the name partially stems from the fuzzy, grainy, raw sound that comes from either intentional post-production, or an entire lack of production. There are filters on the voice, the guitar, the drums, everything. Lo-fi awesomeness at its best. This is also the most original piece of the single in terms of composition. The chords are everywhere, the guitar is everywhere; now we’re getting out of Nickelback territory and into Foofighters territory. That puts a smile on my face, if only because it shows the musicianship of the entire band, and not just the vocalist. This song, in my opinion, should be the A-Side of the album, though of course it could stand to be a little longer, if they had more lyrics to put to it.

If you want to pick up the single, look up catalog number SRCL-7147. The single was released in November 2009. This Okinawan trio might just be the sort of band you’d want to get into. Let us know your thoughts. Devoted fans of Stereopony, please weigh in with your comments as well! What’s their best song? What singles (EPs? Albums?) do you recommend?