Star Wars creator/producer George Lucas followed up his ambitious, if widely panned trilogy prequel with a distinctly less ambitious extension of the saga, a largely Japanimation-inspired feature that essentially bridges an earlier animated series with its new Cartoon Network incarnation. And while SW purists are likely still debating the project’s narrative and design merits somewhere in cyberspace, TV veteran Kevin Kiner’s musical score deserves credit for not only interpolating a few of John Williams’ evergreen themes in fresh new ways, but infusing their Hollywood Golden Age swashbuckling sensibilities with some refreshing contemporary flourishes. Kiner infuses his orchestral score with dollops of driving rock and organic, ethnic modalities that parallel Bear McCreary’s innovative work on the new Battlestar Galactica, some feverish percussion and synth landscapes, and even brief flourishes of ‘50s jazz. However mixed the blessings of Lucas’ Star Wars empire have become in recent years, its music remains arguably its most consistently rewarding element.

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