Sofia Coppola
's impressionistic romance
Lost in Translation
features an equally impressionistic and romantic
soundtrack
that plays almost as big a role in the film as
Bill Murray
and
Scarlett Johanssen
do. In the film,
Bob
Charlotte
are able to stretch their instant connection as strangers in a strange land into something that seems to last longer and feel deeper because of their need to believe in a love like that; their relationship is a beautiful, fleeting little world unto itself, and the music that plays behind them emphasizes the romantic fever dream. The
's luminous atmospherics come from a variety of sources, but
My Bloody Valentine
's
Kevin Shields
leads the pack by contributing the
Loveless
classic
"Sometimes"
and four new tracks penned under his own name. A nearly perfect song from a nearly perfect album,
is so incredibly gorgeous, and so effortlessly accomplished, that in hindsight it's easier (if no less frustrating) to understand why
Shields
is so hesitant about putting out any new material in the wake of songs like this. However, while his new tracks don't reach
' peaks, they're not intended to; open-ended pieces like the naive, guitar-driven
"City Girl"
and the abstractly poignant,
Eno
-inspired
"Goodbye"
may be somewhat disappointing as songs (especially new songs from one of music's most reticent visionaries), but they work well as
material.
"Ikebana"
and especially
"Are You Awake?"
suggest some of the
electronic
forays that
wanted to explore with
before he stopped working under that name; while both tracks, particularly the latter, are lovely, they're so fleeting that it's hard to tell whether or not they really indicate a new direction in
' work.
As worthwhile as
' contributions are, it would be a mistake to let them eclipse the rest of this fine
. Interestingly, many of the other pieces on
sound more like
' previous work than his own tracks. Chief among them is
Death in Vegas
' lovely
"Girls,"
a slow-building epic that combines breathy vocals, deceptively simple guitars, and distant but powerful drumming in a way that evokes
but doesn't borrow from them too shamelessly. Likewise,
the Jesus & Mary Chain
"Just Like Honey"
is nearly as swooningly romantic as
"Sometimes."
Sebastien Tellier
"Fantino"
Squarepusher
"Tommib"
fit in well with
' work and also recall the work of
Air
, whose
"Alone in Kyoto"
is a smoothly flowing, Asian-inspired piece that reflects both their own sound and the film's setting. Ironically enough,
Happy End
"Kaze Wo Atsumete"
is the only song by an authentically Japanese group, but it sounds a lot like
Gilbert O'Sullivan
"Alone Again, Naturally,"
which was used to devastating effect in
The Virgin Suicides
.
Phoenix
"Too Young,"
a stylish re-creation of '80s
soft rock
, is another highlight from
, which works equally well as background music or as a way to replay the movie in your head (the hidden track of
's drunken
karaoke
rendition of
"More Than This"
heightens this effect). Perfectly defined in its hazy beauty, this
loses nothing in its translation from a quietly wonderful movie into a quietly wonderful album. ~ Heather Phares