Blumpkin Nation
"The Invisible Movie Soundtrack" CD
Penny
Nation
Genres: rock, electronica, soul
Feb 2 - 8 2004 |
What a confusing release. The cover art is awful, the liner
notes are unreadable at best, and the label's website is equally
confounding. I'm not sure if Blumpkin Nation is the band,
or if The Invisible Movie Soundtrack is the title - it could be
the other way around, or something different altogether. All I
know is that this album is the aftermath of a collaboration between many of
the Penny Nation collective's bands and artists, and that it's really, really good. The Invisible Movie Soundtrack is eclectic in the true sense
of the word, comprised of a wide array of different sounds and
flavours; rock, soul, pop, electronica, and jazz concepts are all
tapped. But this doesn't make it disjointed or awkward at all -
in fact, it just makes the album that much more enjoyable. The
irresistible, almost Elf Power-esque folk-tinged pop of
"She Sings To Me" is surely one of the album's best
assets; it's so pretty it will get Elephant 6 fanatics
excited. Soul tunes like "Darwin" and "Damn
Alright" are also in abundance on The Invisible Movie
Soundtrack, lending parts of the album a laidback, chilled-out
feel. The Wings-meets-shoegazer ballad of
"Disappear" is another highlight, boasting a very memorable
melody that could have been a hit in the seventies. It's got a
serious Paul McCartney sound going on. Meanwhile, the
Spanish flavours of "Pramahna" mustn't be ignored; it is one
of the mostly uniquely enjoyable songs this album has to offer.
Also impressive are the many short electronic / pop interludes that
occupy the spaces in between Soundtrack's longer songs.
"Gan" and "Daneloo" are prime examples; the former
is awesome - its slippery, throbbing sound is both moody and
exquisitely infectious - but the brooding, spacey melodies of the
latter really take the cake. "Flute Stretch" is also a
quality interlude, boasting some nice flute / electronic fusion.
There isn't a single dud on this album, which is especially
impressive considering it's twenty-six songs long, including the bonus
instrumentals. The Invisible Movie Soundtrack is recommended, no matter how awful the cover art
may be.
87%
Matt Shimmer
[Vitals: 19 [+ 7 hidden] tracks, distributed by the
label, released 2001] |
