Most of the anime soundtracks that I listen to generally consist of orchestral music or synthesizer compositions. There just isn't a lot of other instrumentation commonly used. There are a few exceptions, of course, and the second FLCL soundtrack album, King of Pirates, definitely counts as an exception. Where I am used to keyboards and sappy sounds, this album attacks straight up with the solid alt-rock sounds of the Japanese band The Pillows. The first track, "Crazy Sunshine," is a good lead into the album, as it isn't too overpowering but still gets you into a proper rockin' mood. Then the album throws "White Ash" at you, which is probably my favourite track on the album. This song, to put it bluntly, rocks my face. It is very aggressive and really gets you pumped up. After this short song is finished, you are anticipating a totally rockin', butt-kicking music experience.

Then the first drama track kicks in, which is a total buzz-kill. This drama track lasts for almost ten whole minutes, and eliminates any flow that the preceding music had going. Most people will just fast-forward to the next track, "Nightmare," a rock instrumental number that would have been the appropriate follow-up to "White Ash." This is followed by an almost mellow guitar instrumental that, while not having the same manic energy as the early album, is still quite an enjoyable listening experience.

Then the album throws another curve ball at you. Track six, "Memory of Summer," is a piano and flute track by Shinkichi Mitsumune. This track, while very good from a musical standpoint, just doesn't fit on this album. At all. In fact, when I first heard it, I thought it was a Joe Hisaishi arrangement. There is nothing wrong with that, but it once again breaks up the flow that the album had started to develop.

The rest of the album continues in this fashion, with The Pillows unable to get a proper flow going. Once you really get into it, a drama track or an instrumental piece shows up and breaks the mood. There are a few possible explanations for this. First, the individual who put this album together might hate you. Second, they might have felt that the flow needed to be broken up (a terrible decision, but possible nevertheless). Third, nobody really thought about it at all, and the result is a dysfunctional organization of songs and drama tracks. I don't want you to think that I don't like this album, because I actually like it quite a bit. It's just that it could have been organized much better than it was.

That being said, pretty much everybody reading this review will be picking this album up for the songs by The Pillows. This is J-rock at its best. Notable tracks are the aforementioned "White Ash," "Funny Bunny," and "Last Dinosaur," but none of them are bad. Unless you can understand spoken Japanese, you likely won't get much value from the drama tracks, and the three tracks by Mitsumune are fine and good, but not a compelling reason for picking up this album. The Pillows, however, provide the compelling reason you need. I can recommend this album to anyone who likes good rock music. Just be prepared to rip the tracks you like and create your own playlist to get the proper musical flow.