Asphalt

Beginning with a series of light drones and construction sounds before settling into a muffled pulse beat with gentle synths, the beginning of the second of ITN's commissioned silent film soundtracks provides an almost ambient industrial note to the movie, a melodramatic though obscure German mystery from the late 20s noted for its sets and cinematography. When "Sobriety I" begins, though, with its haunting piano melody and melancholy arrangement, we are clearly back in the realm of ITN drama, more gentle than on many of their albums, but nonetheless wonderful to hear as always from the band. As with the soundtrack to Caligari, Asphalt is composed and played solely by the Humberstones (while a couple of tracks certainly sound like oboist Crowther is playing on them, no specific credits for other players are present in the liner notes). Similarly to Caligari as well, mood setting rather than specific songs is the major goal, complementing the film source rather than overwhelming it. However, Asphalt feels just that bit more standalone than the Caligari soundtrack, a little more strong on its own qualities. The contrast between piano and other arrangements is used excellently on a number of pieces, such as "Precious," which also works in a shuffling trip-hop beat to boot. Similar contrasts appear between full string arrangements and distorted, bubbling percussion on "Metropole," while other tracks, like the appropriately ominous "Underworld," combine rather than contrast elements for uniform effect. Overall an air of mysterious decadence carries through the album, something at once beautiful and disturbing -- the gentle, music box tones of "Opulence" especially stand out in this regard -- making Asphalt a most intriguing listen, regardless of your knowledge of the film in question. ~ Ned Raggett