Nathan Larson

Nathan Larson's FilmMusik is a retrospective containing recordings Larson made for such films as Boys Don't Cry, The Woodsman, Dirty Pretty Things, and Storytelling, most of them previously unreleased on disc. A rock musician, Larson tends to construct guitar-based pieces reminiscent of Robert Fripp and Brian Eno's ambient soundscapes for his movie work. But he occasionally comes up with tracks that sound like rock songs without lyrics, and on three selections he goes all the way and writes tunes with lyrics he sings himself. "You Can Take What's Left of Me" is such a song from the Prozac Nation soundtrack. Larson also provides his own vocal performance of "I Want Someone Badly," a song from First Love, Last Rites sung on that soundtrack by Jeff Buckley. And his performance of "She Might Be Waking Up" previously appeared on the soundtrack of High Art. Larson doesn't sound like he yet has the musical chops to attempt a big orchestral film score for a major studio production. But his home-recorded material gives the right tone to many personal, independent films with contemporary settings (films that often don't have accompanying soundtrack albums), and this collection demonstrates the appeal of such material. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide