Search - Various Artists :: Wristcutters: A Love Story

Songs for the suicidally dead

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 01/20/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Here's a riddle: What do Artie Shaw, rock band Joy Division, and gypsy-punkers Gogol Bordello all have in common? (Aside from being musical, that is)



Well, all three are included on the soundtrack for "Wristcutters: A Love Story," a quirky movie about young suicides in love in a sort of suicide-limbo. Most of the soundtrack is whimsical and atmospheric, but occasionally you get these wild rock numbers, soft pop and classic jazz.



Most of the music is by Bobby Johnston, and his songs tend to be very short and magically atmospheric. We get some beautiful, brief little songs -- ominous crescendos, smooth little piano-folk melodies, sprightly little pop songs, folk ballads, and Slavic-flavoured interludes that sound like gypsies took over a jazz band. The highlight is the warm, organ-infused "Everything Reminded Me Of You."



And it's sprinkled with a little bit of everything else -- a countryish Gram Parsons song, Mushman's swirling "Brennan's Theme," Mikal Lazarev's panting "Love Song," the quirky Screaming Lord Sutch song "She's Fallen in Love With A Monster Man," and Artie Shaw's sinuous jazz melody. And of course, Joy Division's wonderfully sharp-edged, tinny-voiced "Love Will Tear Us Apart."



And since the character of Eugene is based on Eugene Hutz (frontman of Gogol Bordello), it seems appropriate that Gogol Bordello gets three songs on here -- the mellow Slavic-folky "Through the Roof'n'Underground," the blazing "Occurrence on the Border" and the stomping, devilish punk of "Huliganjetta." It sounds exactly like the sort of stuff that Eugene (the character) would revel in.



Soundtracks basically come in two types -- mixtapes of various otherwise unconnected songs (sometimes magnificent, sometimes horrible), or musical journeys that follow the film's plot. "Wristcutters: A Love Story" is a little of both -- it's a sort of musical journey, but it's speckled with great individual songs that stand out on their own.



Much of the music is made up of Johnston's musical interludes, which are pretty, mellow and sometimes catchy -- you can hear all sorts of instruments woven in there, from a bamboo flute and wind chimes to twangy guitars, piano to soaring electronics. And whatever he plays, it evokes a lot of emotion -- sorrow, playfulness, love, or even fear at times.



But poking out of these atmospheric tunes are (taDA!) little nuggets of solid, quirky classic rock'n'roll, with the delicious "Love Will Tear Us Apart" as the centerpiece -- it's a suitably dark song for the suicide lands. But Gogol Bordello shakes the whole thing up with their vibrant, fiery Slavic music, tying in with some of Johnston's work. Lots of horns, accordions, punk riffs and rough wails from Hutz.



"Wristcutters: A Love Story" had a brilliant soundtrack, and it definitely improves as you listen to it by itself. Jazz, gypsy-punk, classic rock or original compositions -- it's all here, and it fits nicely."

Gogol Suicidal

kaleb of sctas.com | 500 Miles Underground | 03/27/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Excellent soundtrack to a clever film. The subtle use of [suicide token] Joy Division in the bar scene where all of the "off'd" mingle and discuss how they "did it" is genuinely effective. Gogol Bordello being of prominent focus on the soundtrack - and having a character in the film developed around GB front man Eugene Hütz - makes this a great [and unexpectedly unique] compilation. Yep."

So where is Tom Wait's song DEAD???

W. T. Hoffman | Pennsylvania, United States | 02/18/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"First off, I simply LOVE this film. AND, I love the music that they use. Before I ever saw the film, I owned both CDS, that gave the film the two songs, which were both completely played, and were the bookends of the whole film's message. Of course, the one song that's played over and over in the film, is GOGOL BORDELLO's "Thru the Roof N Underground". The other central song is Tom Wait's "DEAD". In fact, the film's opening number, played COMPLETELY to the end, is the Tom Wait's song. (IT's from his album REAL GONE). And, to make matters wierder, Tom Waits even STARS in this picture. SO, to remove the MAJOR SONG, by a MAJOR ARTIST, who starred in the film, is my reason to take this down a star. My advice, is to just buy GOGOL BORDELLO's album "MULTI KONTRA CULTI", and Waits' "REAL GONE". The other songs on the soundtrack are included, because they are either written by someone who committed suicide (JOY DIVISION's lead singer Ian Curtis hung himself), or the song has a legend where people who heard the song, committed suicide. (GLOOMY MONDAY was said to have caused a rash of suicides around the globe. There's a german film based on this legend, by that title as well. Great film.) But songs like GLOOMY SUNDAY you hear about ten notes in the backround of a bar, just like LOVE WILL TEAR US APART is in the first bar scene, when he meets Eugene. I wouldnt mind getting this soundtrack just to hear the throat singing by Eugene's mute girlfriend he meets at the camp, but I cant tell by the titles, if that is even included. As for songs by suicides, or that caused suicides, that's a wild concept for a soundtrack. But the Gogol Bordello songs dont hold to that concept, so the soundtrack doesnt have much conceptual unity. (Big Band music, matched to modern "ethnic Punk", matched to Country rock, matched to 1970's New Wave, matched to a soundtrack score?) I'm just shocked they removed the movie's MAIN SONG (DEAD by Tom Waits) from the film's soundtrack. I'd give this even LESS stars, except I love Gogol Bordello so much."