Mike Patton - The Solitude Of Prime Numbers OST

(Iepac Recordings, 2011)

Reviewing the soundtrack to a film that you’ve not seen presents a number of problems to the objective writer. Film scores need to be approached in a different way to ‘normal’ pieces of music because they are created to evoke specific moods, utilise a wider variety of instruments and often carry a narrative along a certain path. Sometimes the power and depth of a piece of music is indelibly tied to the images it was inspired by and some of the most iconic film scores of all time instantly bring images to mind.

Enter Mike Patton and his soundtrack to a film about prime numbers and we’re more befuddled than usual. Of course most alternative music fans will be familiar with Patton (Faith No More, Mr. Bungle, Fantomas et al), a man whose versatile voice has been lent to everything from renditions of 1950s Italian show-tunes to the infected characters in the Left 4 Dead games. But some of Patton’s more casual fans might be surprised to find out that he is also an accomplished musician and composer in his own right having scored two previous films: 2008′s orchestral A Perfect Place and 2009′s hyperactive Crank: High Voltage.

All of this suggests that it’s probably unwise to attempt to second-guess Mike Patton because some of the music on The Solitude of Prime Numbers seems to take inspiration from the jaunty-yet-melancholic film score works of Jon Brion (particularly the I Heart Huckabees and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind soundtracks) but Patton lends proceedings a dramatic, minor feel on pieces like “Radius of Convergence”. Indeed some sections of the album are quite tense and pensive, consisting mostly of sparse piano and strings, with some moody, woozy progressions sounding like the soundtrack to an unreleased David Lynch film.

Patton also introduces several recurring musical themes (“Calculus of Finite Differences” and “Abscissa”, “Twin Primes” and “Isolated Primes”) which give the collection a sense of cohesion when listened to from start to finish and which no doubt establish recurring themes within the film itself. It also suggests that Patton has become something of a sophisticated composer, recognising that familiarity and repetition can serve a purpose beyond pushing the listener. However the fact that this soundtrack was made by Patton is ultimately quite irrelevant – even ardent fans of Patton’s work might not be able to tell that he had made this record if they listened to it blind, so to speak.

And therefore there is little point dissecting it with Patton in mind – it’s a thoughtfully made, if slightly dull soundtrack which will probably be of little interest to anyone who isn’t a hardcore Patton fan, or a fan of the film. There are no conventional ‘songs’ here for you to get your teeth into and the music isn’t quite compelling enough that you’ll want to blast it for its instrumental qualities. Final track “Weight of Consequences” summarises the album’s extremes, beginning with a lengthy ambient section before closing the album as it started with a light, breathy section with Patton singing “la la la la” over shifting minor and major chord progressions.

It came as a bit of a surprise when I finally got round to watching the film’s trailer that the music was more compelling than the film appeared to be. From the title I assumed the movie was some art-house film or a maths documentary but it comes across like a tarted-up romance and so it’s hard to reconcile the two forms. Perhaps this is one of those cases where the film and the score are better off left to their own devices. Given that the film is about isolation and solitude, this is a strangely fitting arrangement.

[Originally published on The Sleeping Shaman, 29/10/11]
http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/album-reviews/m/mike-patton-the-solitude-of-prime-numbers-ost-cd-2011/

Little Fish - Wonderful

(Estupendo Records, 2011)

‘Wonderful’, the debut single from Little Fish’s (Fishes?) second album, is a pleasant surprise in every way imaginable; it presents a more mature, catchy, and personal side of the band who sound more accomplished than they have before with the addition of an organ player who gives the band an almost spiritual lift on this song. Juju has never shied away from giving her a voice a bit of the old Patti Smith treatment but now she sounds comfortable with her voice (think Smith on ‘E-Bow the Letter’ rather than the yelps on ‘Gloria’). Some may say that ‘Wonderful’ is a ‘safe’ record as it deviates from the band’s more garage rock background in favour of a more commercial sound but it demonstrates the band’s ability to make a personal sentiment seem universal. Fantastic stuff from a band that are clearly still on the rise.

[Originally published in Oxford Music Scene magazine, issue 15)
http://www.oxfordmusicscene.co.uk/images/oms_issue15.pdf

Secret Rivals - Make Do and Mend EP

(Kittiwake, 2011)

Secret Rivals are likely to divide opinion if you’ve never heard them before. A painfully ‘indie’ band, the guys have their influences emblazoned on their foreheads and dance excitedly back and forth over the line between being inspired by and being derivative of their influences. For example, “These Are Only Obstacles” pretty much IS an early Idlewild song mixed with some Blink-182 guitar melodies and vocal interplay while “Blisters” could be an Interpol song if you took away the boy/girl dynamic. On the plus side the songs are chirpy, upbeat and full of energy which makes Secret Rivals a welcome change from the droller indie bands that the city has to offer. On the downside the affected, mockney vocals become tiresome after the first two songs. If you like twee, earnest indie pop in the new-millennial mould then Make Do and Mend will surely melt your heart.

[Originally published in Oxford Music Scene magazine, issue 15]
http://www.oxfordmusicscene.co.uk/images/oms_issue15.pdf

Windhand - S/T

(Forcefield Records, 2011)

If you’re here then there’s a pretty good chance that you are (at the very least) familiar with a little-known band called Black Sabbath. Some of you may even own a few of their records. Others of you may have even been inspired enough by them to start a band of your own (and rewrite their songs under different names). So let’s just face it, Black Sabbath are fucking awesome and they are probably one of your favourite band’s favourite bands. But very few bands have been as shamelessly, repeatedly and, for the most part, poorly emulated as those Brum doom lords. Which is why Windhand are such a breath of fresh air.

At first glance you might be confused because Windhand are clearly unashamedly Sabbathian in the same way that many other heavy bands are. The difference is that Windhand do Sabbath with such unadulterated and unapologetic rock swagger that they somehow manage to make the sound their own. They also make you want to jump out of your chair and start stomping around the workplace punching co-workers as you go by in a mindless haze. Or maybe I just hate my workmates. Regardless, the Richmond, Virginia band, who first piqued the interest of the stoner and doom community last year when they released their excellent two-track “Practice Space Demo”, have now released their self-titled debut which sees them continue in much the same fashion.

In fact the album is book-ended by the same two tracks from last year’s demo, albeit in their re-recorded and fuller-sounding forms. And the new songs don’t deviate too far from the formula of those first tracks: Big Muff-enhanced riffs forging singular paths into the next Big Muff-enhanced riffs with the occasional guitar solo to create an opportunity for listeners to swing their heads round and round and get lost in the psychedelic landscapes the band forge. Structurally the songs are simple and uncluttered; the pace is pleasantly slow, Ryan Wolfe drumming lazily (in a good way), waiting for the right moments to throw in the occasional fill.

But what really makes Windhand stand out is singer Dorthia’s vocals which float omnipresently over the primal, molten riffing below her like a toxic vapour. On first listen I thought the singer was a man with a Perry Farrrell/Ozzy Osbourne-by-way-of-Mike Scheidt style delivery but further spins revealed the inherent and unique femininity in Dorthia’s warm voice. Even more impressive are her vocal melodies which are memorable and instantly familiar, particularly on “Heap Wolves” where the vocals weave in and out of the riffs in the way that Layne Staley worked his way around Alice in Chains’ twisted melodies.

Featuring former members of Facedowninshit and Alabama Thunderpussy, Windhand always stood a pretty good chance of being a good band and the “Practice Space Demo” certainly fulfilled that early potential. With this full-length they’ve carried along the same path and expanded their repertoire. What the band needs to do now is offer more in the way of variation to prevent them from becoming yet another in a long list of Sabbath clones. For now though, Windhand are an awesome all-conquering beast who you should seriously consider investigating.

[Originally published on The Sleeping Shaman, 01/10/11]
http://www.thesleepingshaman.com/reviews/album-reviews/w/windhand-st-cd-2011/