When you're making a film whose premise seems strangely surreal and psychedelic (celebrity impersonators holed up in a mythical place), it seems only natural to have a soundtrack scored by a guy who has referred to himself as J. Spaceman in liner notes for quite some time now. Add to it the psychedelic twang and meandering of Sun City Girls and you have a record as surreal as the film it accompanies. But to be honest, it's essentially an instrumental spaced-out drug-rock odyssey.
Fans of Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized who seem to be cult-like in their devotion to Jason Pierce will no doubt purchase this recording without needing much fanfare. Those who are lovers of Spacemen 3 and early Spiritualized will be sufficiently excited. For as we all know, Spiritualized has vacillated between acoustic offerings, an almost garage-like sound and an increased presence of gospel and soul in recent years, however, this soundtrack sees Pierce returning to a truly spaced-out sound with a heavy dose of Brian Eno thrown in.
Although I can't be exactly sure (having not been given proper liner notes) as to who did what exactly regarding the songwriting, I think fans with knowledge of both artists can easily double-down on where Spaceman leaves off and the Sun City Girls pick up. Their sound is more dissonant, with occasional chants, textured sound effects and ambling psychedelic guitar lines that mesh well with Spaceman's drone. At times, it even seems a little Beefheart-esque. Along with some film dialogue, including a monologue read by Werner Herzog (random, yet awesome), this bizarre little soundtrack that travels from underwater space jams to creepy circus organs to a phasered out guitar song simply called "3D Girls" will sufficiently whet the appetite of space rock, psychedelic loving, Eno enthusiasts.
Download: "Mr. Lonely Viola" from Mister Lonely Soundtrack – [mp3]
Mister Lonely Soundtrack is out now on Drag City.
More on Mister Lonely here: www.misterlonely.co.uk
Mister Lonely — Trailer
