Various Artists - Hallam Foe OST (Domino)
4/5
By: Michael Cragg
'Hallam Foe', so this helpful little blurb I hold tells me, is "a magical story of redemptive love, loss and life on the rooftops of Edinburgh". Now, I haven't seen the film itself, but listening to the album you know immediately where the film is set, such is the overriding influence of the wonderful Scottish brogue over the album's sixteen tracks.
The soundtrack is comprised entirely of music from Domino Records back catalogue, with the notable addition of a brand new Franz Ferdinand track (more on this later). Domino's head honcho Laurence Bell and director David Mackenzie have done a pretty good job in cherry picking bands and the highlights are numerous.
The album opens with the stunning 'Blue Boy' by Edwyn Collins' band, Orange Juice. It's difficult to hear without thinking of the aforementioned Franz Ferdinand or any of the 'spiky' guitar bands that emerged around that time, such is its influence. Other highlights come from the underrated Sons & Daughters with 'Broken Bones', the electro duo Junior Boys, the ever-reliable King Creosote whose 'The Someone Else' is particularly beautiful and Psapp with 'Tricycle'. The latter, interestingly (or maybe not), are described on the internet as having discovered 'toytronica'- literally playing music using toy instruments- and composed the theme tune to American TV show 'Grey's Anatomy'.
So that leaves a certain new track by a certain Scottish band called Franz Ferdinand. 'Hallam Foe, Dandelion Blow' is a mid-paced shuffle, featuring an acoustic guitar and some lovely keyboard washes that never really gets going in the way you might expect from the band. But this is not a criticism, and once you get accustomed to the lack of any big guitar riffs or vaguely androgynous lyrics, you'll have the song on repeat in no time. But it's not all about the big names; it's about discovering new talent or previously unheard bands. I for one am about to delve head first into the murky world of 'toytronica', Who's with me?
Watch the trailer to 'Hallam Foe' HERE.
Artists in this article: Various Artists
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