Search - Various Artists :: Lost in Translation

Stands up well

Eric E. Weinraub | Issaquah, Washington United States | 01/23/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I must admit I always felt this movie was very much like Jim Jaramsch films. Soundtracks are seldom perfect because we all hear things we hope get captured when we listen to the music alone to refresh our memories and recapture vignettes. This soundtrack is very good because it did refresh memories but what makes it better is that the music stands alone quite well. It contains mood music.... Roger Manning, Jr (ex-Jellyfish) contributes some wonderful soundscapes.... It contains '80s acid pop.... Jesus and Marychain's 'Just like 'Honey' and more current alternative sounds of My Bloody Valentine.... You could find yourself hooked."

Haunting, reflective and modern

Richard A. Tucker | Pembroke Pines, FL | 05/22/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Like the film this soundtrack is the perfect reaction of a world in a state of graceful if confusing flux. It spans the divide of both an ancient culture and the modern problems and minor miracles of this age. Kevin Shields' opening track is a light hearted but earthy dirge, low on emotional essence as the timber of his voice remains just below eye level but also has a translucent quality melding with the simple but flowing rhythm of that textured rhythm guitar. It's a ghost in heavy traffic on a rainy day. Sebastian Tellier's "Fantino" is another hauting piece and mercifully brief and that's not a bad thing.

I could list all the track like Death in Vegas' "Girls" with it's ephemeral but electric bloom, or so many others that cling to my subconsious long after I've listened to them. What's remarkable about this soundtrack is the way it was used for the film makes it as essential as the actors' spoken words, their situations, the settings, editing and cinematography. It is so much a part of the whole that I really neglected it, took it for granted. Then i realized that it haunted me. Years later I finally bought the CD and it's been played 4 times in less than 2 months. As soundtracks go, they are always a mixed bag, with songs you're bound to just tolerate in the mix of even the best tunes, but this one has not a single stinker to be tolerated. There are a couple that don't get me excited but even those are delightful bridges to better work.

One last bonus that bears mentioning; this collection has yet to disappoint me regardless of the time of day or weather conditions. It really seems to suit any moment I find myself listening to it, rain or shine, day or night."