The Protagonist - "we'll all wish to go back in time" (8/10)

Review Date: (03/11/2024)

This is the third album of the classroom trilogy but sadly, I wasn't there when it first came out because Sonic and I parted ways at the time. This album is darker compared to the previous two. Most of the tracks here are ambient and uneasy, with regular music being a rare occurrence. It is also a direct parody of The Caretaker's we'll all go riding on a rainbow, except it's about revisiting the past from a third person perspective.

"Dreams of love and friendship" is a calming drone, and "We'll all wish to go back in time" is a slowed down repeating loop of a song from Doki Doki Literature Club. "Those old days" is an ominous piano, I love it. "The lighthearted classroom" sounds warm and nostalgic, and "Bell that keeps on ringing" sounds like the whir of memories passing by. "The glimpse of a song" is some kind of a reversed TikTok song? I guess it makes sense when you remember that this album is about 2018. I love "And the synths played on", it sounds like a disturbing low-pitched drone going up and down. "Afterimage of a crimson eye" is also one of my favorites. There is an off-putting frequency being played over a ghostly ambience that suddenly cuts off at the end. "Under a warm innocent blanket" is a glitchy song that keeps stuttering. I guess it is interesting. "Make a brand new start and dance" is a slowed down recording of a song from Frank Sinatra. It was nice to hear a normal song after a long wait in the dark. "Together" is a rearranged version of Just Monika from the DDLC soundtrack. It was creative but the five-minute runtime made it boring to sit through because it's short and repetitive. "Almost happy" sounds promising and hopeless at the same time. I can imagine a post apocolyptic scene while listening to it. "Time is running out" is another regular song, but it's familiar, isn't it? I feel like everyone knows Lisa Frank 420 by Macintosh Plus. "Your Reality" is the song by the same name, but it's slowed down a little bit. It's an emotional ending for an album like this. I love it.

If you're into dark ambience and if you yearn for the past, I suggest you listen to this album. It's the perfect soundtrack to the late hours of the night when you're pondering about your life, all by yourself.