Zanobard Reviews

Themes old and new soar and a thunderous orchestra roars across Kevin Kiner and crew’s thoroughly entertaining score for Ahsoka, a five hour soundtrack extravaganza where the composers prove beyond all doubt that the John Williams-esque sound is still very much king in the musical world of Star Wars.

Kevin Kiner & co’s (additional music by Sean Kiner, Deana Kiner and David Glen Russell) compositional work for Ahsoka is simply awash and enriched with Star Wars, both in terms of musical style and established themes. The show itself too is similar in this regard, being pretty much a live-action new season of Star Wars Rebels in tone, but no more is that point displayed than in Kiner’s frankly stunning orchestral score here. Take the end credits (and incidentally the standout) cue for instance; it’s the fifteenth track of the score’s first soundtrack volume (of which there are two, Vol. 1 for episodes 1-4 and Vol 2. for episodes 5-8) and immediately as the track begins there’s a dramatic stylistic presence – the orchestral atmosphere is instantly dense and rich with gorgeous-sounding strings and brass playing boldly and grandiosely, and thematically there are two themes immediately at play too. The first is the ‘Ronin’ motif, new for the show and composed by Kiner to showcase Ahsoka’s current character – the word ‘ronin’ sums her up pretty well really, being a wandering warrior now with no master – and this new motif adds a certain intrigue to the music here that then plays well in tandem with Ahsoka’s actual theme – reprising from The Clone Wars series, also composed by Kiner – which is of course a more hopeful motif from her time as a Jedi. And so together, these two themes do a pretty excellent job here of summarising both the character’s thematic past and indeed present.

As the orchestra builds and swells with the two motifs playing in enjoyably adventurous harmony, they are then joined by another theme – Sabine Wren’s, from the Star Wars Rebels series. It starts at 00:40 in this end credits track and plays prominently for a good thirty seconds or so, given Wren’s main character status in the show. From 01:10 though Ahsoka’s motif returns to the fray for the best part of the track, a minute-long and very grand rendition of said theme with slow, salute-worthy brass taking centre stage. For the final minute Kiner then has one last treat in store, as Hera’s theme – also from Rebels, and also a main character in this new series – briefly plays on heroic brass before Ahsoka’s motif then returns to rather solemnly close out the track, now on quiet strings and woodwinds. Overall then, this end credits piece is a truly staggering piece of music; it seemingly effortlessly weaves classic themes together with new in a boldly and thunderously orchestral setting – harkening closely to Star Wars both in terms of style and of course thematically – for three and a half impeccably enjoyable minutes, and all-in like I say; the standout cue it most certainly is.

Now for the score itself; there’s over five hours of music here across both soundtrack volumes so I’m afraid I can’t talk about everything, but I’ll certainly give you the highlights. “The Update” for instance reintroduces the new Ronin motif in a slower and much more pensive style on strings in its first half, with some rather ominous vocals then entering the fray for the final minute or two. A burst of frantic brass then kicks off the introduction of a newer and much more villainous theme in the subsequent “Master And Apprentice”, as tense drums and moodily malevolent piano notes play a dramatic motif for Baylan Skoll and Shin Hati, force-wielding mercenaries and antagonists of the Ahsoka series. This new theme gets a pretty thorough fleshing out in action form here, and its ominous piano-based style really helps to make it a pretty rapid earworm. Kiner’s very Williams-esque orchestral action style from Clone Wars and Rebels then returns in full force with “Assassin Ambush”, with first the Ronin motif playing tensely before bursts of enthusiastic brass and crashes of deafening drums kick off a further minute or so of thunderous action. “The New Republic” then calms things down with a strings and brass-focused five minute setpiece for the titular republic. Hera’s motif also reprises during this calmly serene track at the ninety second mark in similarly upbeat form. And speaking of Rebels themes, we then get a pretty special appearance in the subsequent “Ezra’s Recording”; as the title suggests Ezra Bridger’s motif from Rebels reprises here, playing in quietly sorrowful form on downtrodden strings and piano notes. It isn’t a particularly long reprisal by any means, but a welcome one nonetheless. And on that note, if you’ve read my previous reviews for the various Disney+ Star Wars series’ you’ll know I’m a big fan of thematic continuity, so I can’t tell you just how great it is to hear Kiner utilising themes good and proper in Ahsoka so far.

“Shin And Sabine” is one of the best tracks on the first volume; it’s a particularly tense piece of action score, as the two titular characters go head-to-head in a fierce lightsaber duel in the show. Frenetic strings, emphatic drums and bursts of ominous brass occupy centre stage for the entirety of the four minute cue, with Kiner properly showing off orchestral talent throughout until a sudden crescendo is reached right at the end; and a quietly solemn rendition of Sabine’s motif on strings then closes out the track. “Morgan And Baylan” then interplays bad guy themes, playing a moodily malevolent strings-based piece for villainous nightsister Morgan Elsbeth while also hinting back toward Baylan’s from the opening “Master And Apprentice” cue. Action then returns in “Loyalists”, though its actually the extended version of this track in volume two that you should really pay attention to as it comes in at a whopping five minutes long versus the volume one version’s mere ninety seconds. In the full version, Ahsoka’s theme briefly charges heroically into fray as the cue begins before Baylan’s piano motif echoes villainously through, and thunderous orchestral action takes centre stage from then on for four throughoughly enjoyable further minutes. Frantic bursts of brass then occupy much of action trio “You Don’t Know That”, “I Shall Deal With Them” and “Stepping Out”, with tensions building to a particularly worrisome crescendo in the back half of the middle track and some very Williams-esque orchestrations taking point alongside Ahsoka’s theme for the final setpiece.

Loudly ethereal vocals are the focal point in the first minute of “The Whale Pod”, with loud bursts of heroic brassy action then subsequently playing until the track fades gently out another minute or so later. Baylan’s moody motif then simmers threateningly back into the fray opposite the Ronin motif in “Hunt Them Down”, with the former then returning in similarly villainous form alongside Morgan Elsbeth’s in the short “Meet Up With Baylan” but not before both Hera and the New Republic’s themes reprise in the much more upbeat and optimistic “Watch Me”, which ends on a particularly enthusiastic and very Williams-esque crescendo. As the first volume of the score starts to draw to a close “Fight In The Woods” kicks off a series of increasingly tense action cues, with the aforementioned track thundering along at a brisk and percussion-heavy pace together with frantic strings and frequent bursts of worried brass for much of its nearly four minute runtime. “Ahsoka And Baylan” then picks up where this leaves off, showcasing an epic lightsaber duel in music form as the titular characters thematically engage in dramatic battle in a thunderous and thoroughly enjoyable action climax. Baylan’s moody theme then reprises in much quieter form in the subsequent “Do It”, with high-pitched horror-like strings playing in the back half. Elsbeth and Baylan’s themes then reprise once more in a quietly victorious manner in “Can’t Follow Us”, before “Something Familiar” then closes the first volume on a very curious musical note indeed, as several notes from John Williams’ Imperial March sinisterly end the track.

Volume two begins with “Death And Destruction”, and Ahsoka’s theme soars loud and thunderous on powerfully melancholic brass in the track’s opening seconds, before tense action then rampages through to cue’s end. “I Can Feel It” is then a very special track indeed, as quietly wondrous electronics open the piece with gentle but also quite mysterious-sounding brass and strings notes also fading into the fray until 02:20, where the thematic magic we’ve all been waiting for finally happens as a full rendition of John Williams’ Force theme sounds wistfully through. It’s a prominent moment in the show itself, and I’m very glad Williams’ iconic themes were able to be included properly here unlike some… other shows that shall not be named. “Teaching You How To Lead” then harkens rather sorrowfully back to the darker days of The Clone Wars with melancholic vocals and mysterious-sounding strings playing throughout, sounding very much like Kiner’s “Burying The Dead” cue from season seven of the aforementioned series at times. This ethereal ominousness then continues into the subsequent “Searching For The Shoreline”, “You’re A Warrior Now”, “Awakening” and “Listening To The Force” tracks, with Ahsoka’s motif reprising solemnly at various intervals alongside tense synths for a good fifteen minutes overall of downtrodden orchestral ambience. Ahsoka’s theme however is then showcased much more prominently and indeed hopefully a few tracks later in “The Hyperspace Jump”, a truly immense and very heroic piece of orchestral writing and utter standout cue of volume two. Overall it feels like all the volume two tracks so far have been building up to this, as it’s a simply spellbinding and loudly triumphant piece that utilises the full power of the orchestra to brilliantly enjoyable and indeed very epic effect throughout its three minute runtime.

Baylan’s motif is the focal point of “Baylan’s Plans”, a much darker and moodier cue that pays particular attention to the aforementioned theme for three exquisite minutes. A loudly distorted organ though is then centre stage for “Grand Admiral Thrawn”, as the titular iconic Star Wars villain finally enters the live-action fray after a long time teased. Dramatic electronics and thunderous militaristic drums play malevolently alongside the near-deafening bursts of organ as Thrawn makes his grand entrance here, and what a track it is as a result. Curiously Thrawn’s actual theme – from Kiner’s score for Star Wars Rebels – doesn’t actually make an appearance in this track (you’d think it would), but the album does include what is presumably an alternate cue for the Grand Admiral’s entrance scene entitled “Thrawn’s Arrival” that includes both said motif and a loudly dramatic organ playing in a similarly villainous manner. Personally I enjoy the latter cue far more, but that could just be me. Now that it’s has been re-introduced Thrawn’s theme does also appear in further tracks too, with one such example being “Sabine Rides Off” as the character’s signature organ reprises as malevolently as ever in the final minute of the cue. “That’s A Rock” then introduces a new motif for the small Noti creatures of the show on light woodwinds and playful percussion, with Baylan then villainously returning to musically threaten in the subsequent “I See Bandits”, but thankfully hope then rears its bright orchestral head once again in “It Worked Didn’t It?”. Hopeful woodwinds and gentle strings open this piece, with lightly playful brass also joining the fray which then builds gently for the next few minutes until the orchestra leaps to a beautiful crescendo as Ezra Bridger’s theme returns in a wonderfully triumphant manner.

Ezra’s theme reprises tensely in the short “Primary Objective” on frenetic strings, with action then once again thunderously leaping into the fray with the quaternity of “Circle Up”, “Not This Again”, “Baylan’s Decision” and “What I See”. Ahsoka’s theme leads a dramatic and very John Williams-sounding musical charge for the first two cues, with Baylan’s moody piano motif then dialing up the tension considerably in the third piece. Said tension then reaches fever pitch in the fourth track with strings and bursts of brass crashing through at an incredible pace for the first two minutes, until ominous electronics then enter centre stage alongside a rather sinister-sounding organ, with Thrawn’s motif then victoriously closing out the fight. Thrawn and Baylan’s malevolent motifs then dance in electronic/organ-based musical harmony for the five minute “Never Again”. The gentle “I Have A System” then reprises none other than Kanan Jarrus’ theme from Star Wars Rebels (also by Kiner), a very welcome thematic cameo that plays in a quietly wistful, reminiscent manner here. This gentleness doesn’t last for long though as “Rain Hellfire” then once again kicks off tense action; Thrawn’s theme lurks quite heavily in this track as moody organ-based undertones play while the loud brass, worrisome strings and deafening drums crash overhead. Tensions then continue to mount in the similarly frenetic “Use The Force” with John Williams’ iconic Force theme also getting a short reprisal within, but it’s in the subsequent “What Was Required” where it then properly comes into play as the theme gets a loud and properly heroic orchestral rendition. Seriously… this one is actually spellbinding.

With the finale of the score approaching, “Open Fire” continues the action in a similarly tense vein to that of “What Was Required” with frantic brass and the addition of loudly dramatic vocals. “A Ronin” then concludes this action saga, with rapid strings setting a brisk pace at first with some very Williams-esque brassy flares until Thrawn’s villainous theme then ominously declares musical victory towards the end with a crashing crescendo. “Epilogue Part I” then slows the pace right down with a gently wistful rendition of Ahsoka’s theme to start, with ominous piano notes and moody synth then taking over in the back half to send out both Baylan and Thrawn’s villain themes. “Epilogue Part II” is then a bit more hopeful, reprising both Hera and Ezra’s motifs in a quietly optimistic electronic style to start, before moving over to both Sabine and Ahsoka’s in the back half to give the characters a full and proper thematic sendoff. And what a sendoff it is; the orchestral plays loudly and wondrously throughout here, being a fittingly perfect thematic conclusion that’s then only made better in the final two minutes as Kiner has one final treat in store; the “Where The Sun Sails And The Moon Walks” theme from Star Wars Rebels happily reprises to lead into the final episode’s end credits, crescendoing Ahsoka out in as frankly gorgeous an orchestral manner as possible really.

Overall, Kevin Kiner and crew’s score for the Ahsoka series is just amazing, and an impeccable showcase of how the John Williams sound very much still works for the musical world of Star Wars. The orchestra sounds simply incredible from start to finish across both volumes here, whether it’s a quietly tender strings-based moment or a thunderous brass-based powerhouse of an action cue, and the way the composer and his team seemingly effortlessly weave together Star Wars themes old and new throughout the albums is a genuine joy to listen to. And speaking of themes, not only do Kiner’s established motifs for certain characters appear when you’d expect them to – Ahsoka, Sabine, Hera, Ezra, Thrawn, Kanan to name a few all lovingly reprise from The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels here – but John Williams’ themes happily return too. They’re always there when they need to be, with the Force theme appearances in “I Can Feel It” and “What Was Required” being exquisite examples of this. And as if that all wasn’t enough, Kiner has also composed several excellent new themes for the series in Morgan Elsbeth and Baylan’s themes as well as a new Ronin motif for Ahsoka herself, which all slot rather seamlessly into the already exquisite thematic tapestry composed for the show, and are all very memorable in their own right too.

All-in then, you might think with five hours of music here that this score might get a little boring at times, but for me it simply just doesn’t. Being as long as it is, it pretty much has everything you’d want music-wise from the Ahsoka series, and for me is up there with Star Trek: Picard as genuinely one of the best television scores of the year.

Score: 8.5/10

Standout Cues: 15. Ahsoka – End Credits/14. The Hyperspace Jump

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