Bedroom Community

Divested of the enviro-politic moving picture of the same name, this ceases to be a soundtrack and transcends even the status of an album, because everything about this collection of feelings, emotions and resonant creative constructions is pretty much immaculate. The arrangements and performances are outstanding as is the production, with strings to the fore and, most importantly, strings used properly. The glissandic nature of Laxness, or the glockenspiel/accordion counterpoint of Draumaland, to pick just two examples, are testimony that here is a piece of work made by, for, and with a rare blend of deep love and understanding both of thematic trails and the human experience. And, of course, it is testament to life’s beautifully delicate paradoxical nature that such imperviously wonderful classicism can be borne from such a prickly and contentious subject. Taken simply as a record, this album’s relatively short-form explorations comprise excerpts from a wider soundtrack—the music of the spheres.

Joe Shooman