REVIEW: Soundtrack, Trainspotting 2 (Capitol)
- Rey Roldan
Like its impressive predecessor, Trainspotting #2: Music from the Motion Picture Volume #2 culls music from the dance underground, influential bands of the near past, and everyone’s rock icon, Iggy Pop. One distinctive trait that separates this from many other "volume 2’s" of soundtracks (i.e. "Romeo & Juliet", "Dirty Dancing", "Big Chill"), Trainspotting #2 isn’t so much a marketing ploy to cash into the demographic that bought into the first installment as it is a collection of well-chosen tracks that span the spectrum of "modern" music. Like the soundtracks of John Hughes and Jonathan Demme, this second chapter is a cohesive unit by varied artists whose diverse sounds seemed to interlock naturally and tightly, without the constraints of differing genres and bpms.
Represented by two tracks on this soundtrack, rock dinosaur Iggy Pop manages to sound fresh with material that is as wrinkled as his battered torso. But it isn’t Pop that makes this second volume a worthy follow-up; it’s the electronic outfits whose moody textural atmospheres and pulsing rhythms strike up a sparkling fancy. Underworld (whose phenomenal "Born Slippy" was the backbone of both the film and the first soundtrack volume), is represented by two tracks: "Dark and Long (Dark Train Mix)" and "Born Slippy/NUXX (Darren Price Mix)". The former who original version can be found on the seminal dubnobasswithmyheadman formed the musical tapestry that hung like a pall over Renton’s heroin comedown in the film. Taken purely as audio, it relays that same tense and head-pulsing emotion effortlessly, showcasing the mesmerizing, hypnotic quality that made their last full-length Second Toughest of the Infants one of the most remarkable albums of last year. Leftfield’s "A Final Hit" submerges the bass and sets the percussion in a cavernous spaciousness, opening up the claustrophobic, slightly derivative environment of Sleeper’s "Statuesque". The pop-techno cum raga toasting of Ice MC’s "Think About the Way" has the majestic posturing of M People and the propulsive beats of 2Unlimited (and unfortunately, has more than a passing resemblance to the disco stylings of Bonnie Tyler).
The representatives of previous decades, David Bowie’s "Golden Years", Heaven 17’s "Temptation", Fun Boy Three’s "Our Lips Are Sealed" and Primal Scream’s "Come Together" are all complementary tracks that find themselves snug within the rest of the album’s eclectic but well-meshed collection. But it’s Joy Division’s "Atmosphere" (a personal favorite since forever) that pushes this album from being "just a well-constructed soundtrack" to being a perfectly-executed and expertly-sequenced compilation. While other soundtrack sequels can be likened to similarly uneven B-sides collections, Trainspotting #2 is strong enough to stand on its own. And in some respects like its mesmerizing opener "Choose Life" by PF Project featuring Ewan McGregor, it stands taller than its predecessor.
