Robin Guthrie
(Darla)
Regardless of the fact that this is only Robin Guthrie's second proper
collection of music written specifically for a film, it's safe to say that the
ex-Cocteau Twins guitarist has been writing soundtrack music for most of the
last two decades. Whether for besotted romantics envisioning a baroque
afterlife which looks like a V23 album cover or for those who awake
squinty-eyed after a night of hard drinking, the combination of acute
melodicism and expansive atmospherics that Guthrie specializes in has provided
the background music for many a meditative soul.
It is not, one is sure, the kind of corner Guthrie wants to be painted into; he's long railed against the easy classification of his music as "dreamy" or "frilly," yet he keeps making music like these ten cuts. All beautiful, all slow-moving, all gently engaging, the music on 3:19 may perfectly complement the drama in the Spanish film for which he wrote it, but standing on its own, it's hard to treat this stuff as anything but well-crafted ambience. Guthrie's guitar style - which corrals high-volume feedback and pedal-effects artifacts into languid, liquid warmth - is certainly still an amazing thing to behold, and fans of the Cocteau Twins and the shoegazers who followed will find much to enjoy here. However, those looking for the sort of narrative concision and structural clarity often associated with truly remarkable soundtrack music will likely be disappointed.
Standout Tracks: "Comprensión," "Lisa@Dixo.com" JASON FERGUSON
