Man With a Movie Camera

Album Review

Third in the series of commissioned silent film soundtracks by the band, the original movie is a late-'20s Soviet avant-garde documentary, regarded by some critics to be as radical and innovative as Buñuel's Un Chien Andalou in terms of film technique. ITN for the first time use one of their regular side players on an entry in this series — flautist Lindemann — who adds subtly but strongly to the instrumental mix throughout (his low bass flute tones on "Camera Lucida" are a good instance of how he incorporates himself into the work). Again, as with the other soundtracks, the individual pieces serve to construct an overall mood rather than fully standing out on their own. The feeling of this soundtrack compared to the previous ones is how light and open it can feel at times; there is a gentle but strong exultance present which perhaps matches the positive hopes of the new world meant to be constructed in the USSR, which the film no doubt captures. "City Awakening," for instance, feels like exactly that, almost like a sunrise captured in music (and accentuated by a striking rhythm loop that sounds like softly ringing metal throughout the track), while "Accelerated Life" builds up in subtly dramatic fashion, a grand arrangement getting more grander and life-affirming as it goes. Percussion and rhythm throughout mostly come via pulsing but gentle sequencer loops as opposed to the more upfront samples on their other work, in its own way underscoring the confident futurism of the film (though notably, the rhythm on "Parallax," the majestic standout piece on the album, comes mostly from cymbals!). Once more, ITN demonstrates its almost empathetic ability to create striking music for the film medium.