REVIEW: Shudder to Think, High Art (Velvel/Bottom Line)
- Chelsea Spear
Shudder to Think create music that demands attention. Their blend of raucous grunge guitar, primal rhythm and operatic vocals high-pitched enough to make Pavoratti cross his legs makes for great theatre, but isn't exactly the kind of thing you'd expect to hear as a film score. So it was anyone's guess what director Lisa Cholodenko was thinking when she cast the theatrical trio as the braintrust behind the score for her hallucinatory and disarmingly fresh examination of the art world, High Art.
Surprisingly enough, StT pull off their star turn with admirable aplomb. However, in listening to the score for High Art, you'd hardly guess that this is the same power trio whose spectacular live sets opening for Pavement breathed new life into the intriguing but much-maligned genre of psychedelic prog rock. Instead of taking the velvety approach that first turned heads, score artists Craig Wedren and Nathan Larsen don a slinkier coat and use a trip hop-influenced manse to provide the background music for the film. Thus, their extensive contributions to the High Art soundtrack bear more resemblance to Luna's use of pure, droney guitar riffs set to a loping drum loop on their most recent album, Pup Tent, than to any of Shudder's previous musical output. However, where Luna's sound is more crystalline and dispassionate, Shudder's music suggests someone strung out in the corner, heavy eyelids lowering; someone who once cared, but can't bring themselves to feel anything anymore. Perfect music for a movie whose molasses-slow pacing and limpid, burgundy-tinted cinematography gives a shimmering exterior for someone trying to kick their craving for horse, but can't help but feel seduced by the sublime numbness it offers.
