A major part of the first Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? (AADC) box-office success was its soundtrack. Written and almost-completely performed by Indonesian husband-wife duo Melly Goeslaw and Anto Hoed, the soundtrack was chock-filled with audience-friendly overtures of youthful romance and drama, essentially providing an aural equivalent of the film. It didn’t hurt that Melly and Anto’s songwriting is revered for its simple structure and instantaneous melodies.

The success of the film’s sequel 14-years-later caught absolutely no one by surprise. The nostalgia is strong; the continuing success of most of the main cast certainly just a cheery on top of a winning formula. And like the film’s cleverly calculated rehashing of all the elements of its predecessor, the soundtrack to Ada Apa Dengan Cinta? 2 is pretty much the same soundtrack, just a little older and a little too clever for its own good.

The eight songs featured on the album showcases why Melly and Anto were successful in the 1990s and why they’ve remained pop royalty (especially through songs they’ve written for other, younger artists).

The couple’s songs serve up everything mainstream Indonesia adores in a song — dripping sentimentality and poetic self-pity, even at its most upbeat. Lush orchestral strings and brass, hushed contemplative vocals and literal lyrics about longing and being longed for, permeate throughout the eight-song album.

If anything is unique about the record, it’s the surprising lack of metaphor-drenched prose so prevalent in Indonesian hits. Instead, Melly utilizes conversational lyricism that never ceases to sound awkwardly tacked on (translated sample: “If you went out with someone else, and not me, what would it be for me?”); rather ironic considering the film’s hot-poet main character.

Early in their career, the duo, though hardly original, exuded excitement through their simple pop. Singles released with their power-trio Potret (now long broken up) borrowed liberally from US bands such as Weezer, but it wasn’t drenched in calculative jadedness. Surely, their success with some of the joyful alterna-pop hits would have convinced the couple that not everything has to sound like a lounge ballad?

That is why the most exciting track on this album is “Perjalanan” (Travel) which at least assumes the joy of falling in love. Rolling out with effectively-basic drums, the song exudes the adventurous nature of its title. Only Melly’s nonchalant vocals sound out of place, emanating indifference instead of excitement.

Perhaps, like the first movie’s strongest soundtrack, the Melly-written and Anda folk-rock track “Tentang Seseorang” (About Someone), sung by Bunga, sometimes it’s better to have another musician take the singing mantle.

“Sayang Mau Apa?” (Darling, What Do You Want?) is another that has some energy going for it, with crunchy guitars and a forward-moving beat. Melly undertakes some appropriate emoting over the above-mentioned literal lyrics.

Yet, the rest of the album’s mound of hallmark-lovage ditties are a slog. The piano-ballad “Terlalu Cinta” and electro-ballad “Suara Hati Seorang Kekasih” (The Conscience of a Lover) are collections of slow-moving maudlin melodies arranged around dated musical histrionics (mushy guitar solos and overbearing strings).

It’s unfortunate and ill-fitting because as populist-minded its cinematic inspiration is, the AADC brand served up lots more than crying scenes, which this album seems to predominantly evoke.

It’s always a nice surprise when a soundtrack album manages to stand out beyond its role inside the cinema. In some manner, the first AADC soundtrack did so. Unfortunately, this follow up simply doesn’t commit, emitting a confounding amount of dispassion towards its cinematic equivalent and itself.

— Marcel Thee

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