Hallam Foe [Soundtrack]
Hallam Foe soundtrack
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Monday, 13, Aug 2007 04:51
Domino, out August 13th, 2007.
In a nutshell.
Quirky backing for offbeat romance
What's it all about?
The soundtrack for hotly-tipped Brit flick Hallam Foe
, this collection sees the best of the Domino Records stable grouped together for a haunting-yet-hopeful soundtrack.
Adapted from Peter Jinks' novel, David Mackenzie's film tells the tale of the orphaned Hallam, a voyeuristic Edinburgh boy, saved from his solitary pastime by the love of a girl oddly reminiscent of his mother. With Jamie Bell and Sophia Myles reputedly on career-best form, the soundtrack masterfully marries Hallam's rooftop runs with the agit-punk of Orange Juice and beautifully mournful efforts from King Creosote, James Yorkston & The Athletes, and Psapp.
Who's it by
It's an unsurprisingly Scottish affair, with young hopefuls Sons & Daughters alongside seasoned vets Orange Juice (alma mater of Edwyn Collins) and bastions of north-of-the-border cool Franz Ferdinand, who contribute a brand new song.
Woodbine offer a suitably languid effort and Clinic (supporting Arcade Fire this autumn) donate the hectic If You Could Read Your Mind, in keeping with the movie's jittery aesthetic. Argentinean songstress Juana Molina provides the album's highpoint, with the utterly wonderful Salvese Quien Pueda, while the outstanding Here On My Own, from U.N.P.O.L., a curious mix of Talking Heads, the Pixies, and the Polyphonic Spree, brilliantly captures the film's mix of despair and ecstasy.
As an example.
"You watch them for hours / From slates and clocktowers / The lives below / But your life is others, and lovers, and mothers." - Hallam Foe Dandelion Blow - Franz Ferdinand
"You took off all your clothes / And dived into the sea / I took all those photos / I swore no-one should ever see." - Surf Song - James Yorkston & The Athletes
Likelihood of a trip to the Grammys
Though too odd and discomfiting a selection to really grab massive attention, the likely success of the film, and the attention-grabbing presence of Franz Ferdinand (guitarist Nick McCarthy wrote their effort for the film, after an airborne encounter with Jamie Bell), should win a respectable number of hearts.
What the others say
"It's rare to find a soundtrack that's so much more than the sum of its parts. But, with Domino at the helm, it shouldn't be surprising that the brilliance of a new release from Franz Ferdinand turns out to be par for the course." - ThisIsFakeDIY.co.uk
So is it any good?
It's odd, unsettling and full of a rather unpleasant sense that something dreadful is lurking just around the corner. Yet, amid the foreboding minimalism of Junior Boys' electro throbber Double Shadow and the incongruous Battle At The Gates Of Dub from Future Pilot AKA, there's an astoundingly layered, admirably evocative album lying in wait.
Though it's not flawless - Sons & Daughters promise more than they deliver, Also In White from the Bill Wells Trio is overlong and dull, and Cinema's They Nicknamed Me Evil is a jarring, unpleasant track - it's also a rewarding collection and a credit to its compilers. For a soundtrack to so comprehensively elucidate the themes of its cinematic brother is an amazing feat, especially with a movie as difficult and unique as Hallam Foe.
But the likes of U.N.P.O.L., James Yorkston and Juana Molina manage to adroitly convey the film's (and the novel's) sense of adolescence as a confusing, terrifying time, yet also a period full of hope, possibility and promise. A wholly fitting accompaniment.
8/10
Lewis Bazley
