It is a daunting task to keep track of all the great indie visual novels published these days. Fortunately, a recent review from my colleague Audra pointed me to Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved. Taking cues from franchises like Famicom Detective Club and Ace Attorney, this mystery-oriented title with classic pixel art visuals also sports a fresh, catchy soundtrack from up-and-coming composer Joey Lopes.
Before discussing the music itself, I need to give a shout-out to Lopes for offering up more than the bare minimum. Alongside excellent cover art, this digital album includes sheet music for four pieces (lead sheets for three, piano solo for one), and comes with extensive liner notes. This digital booklet, designed by Kyle Selheimer, features composer commentary on all 40 tracks with screenshots and artwork interspersed throughout. As a collector of physical media, one of the things I have come to loathe about digital releases is the lack of accompanying “digital packaging.” Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved Original Soundtrack has it in spades.
And for VGM nerds like myself, Lopes’ commentary is exciting and elucidating. Throughout the commentary, he alludes to musical references to Joe Hisaishi, Motoi Sakuraba, Yoko Shimomura, Koichi Sugiyama, and even Twin Peaks TV series composer Angelo Badalamenti in his work on the Detective Instinct: Farewell, My Beloved OST. He also provides some great music theory self-analysis, like his use of the Dorian mode in “Searching Room” or the major IV to minor iv as part of a chromatic bass descent in “Emma.”
Now, let’s talk instrumentation and recording. Much of this soundtrack is comprised of synthesized string ensembles and piano, sometimes accompanied by some light drumming and smooth bass lines. Again, the Ace Attorney vibes show themselves. However, there are also some lovely recording sessions woven into this soundtrack. One of my all-time favorites in the field, Jeff Ball, showed up to play violin and viola on several tracks, including “Bartender,” “Sinister Golfer,” and others. Ball is joined by cellist Andrew Dunn on these tracks, and Dunn also offers up a beautiful cello lead in “Professor Martin.” An additional violinist, Ankita Prasad, is credited on this soundtrack, but I’m not sure which string recordings are hers specifically. In any case, these recorded strings elevate the music where they occur, such that I perk my ears up when I hear them. There’s a noticeable difference between these recordings and the synth strings elsewhere in the OST.
Joey Lopes also recorded some of his own guitar performances, mostly found in the final section of the OST, which is the unused/demo work. I’m especially fond of work-in-progress tracks like “Emma (Guitar Noodling)” and “Unused Investigation Theme.” In listening to these tracks, I get a better idea of Lopes’ starting point. Honestly, listening to these, I wish Lopes had leaned into his own guitar (and bass?) playing skills throughout the OST. The wah-wah guitar in “Detective” is fun, as is the guitar in “Crime Scene.” I think Lopes fell back on his keyboard work (piano and electric piano) a tad too much.
Not that I necessarily object. I also recently enjoyed listening to the soundtrack for visual novel Dear me, I was…, which was almost exclusively a piano solo project. It’s just that, given what I know about Lopes’ skill with a guitar, I would encourage him to use those guitar skills more frequently in future projects!
This full soundtrack clocks in at 90 minutes, which I find an ideal running time for visual novel OSTs these days. It’s sizeable enough that you have something to chew on, but it does not overstay its welcome with endless variations or pointless filler material. This is definitely a soundtrack to check out, and Joey Lopes is certainly a name to keep an eye on for future projects!
