Described by Unkle’s James Lavelle as “new music inspired by the moving image”, end titles…stories for film delivers exactly what it intends – a lush collection of collaborations and experiments every bit as cinematic as the title would suggest. Easing in with ice cold piano and guitars awash with ambient delay (reminiscent of boards of canada), the album swiftly builds into driving bass and pounding beats, at times just as dirty or punishing as any rock record should be.
There is a bluesy backbone frequently visible throughout – most obvious on tracks like ‘ghosts’ and ‘blade in the back’- but any conventional sound is blown wide open and injected with pure electric energy. Soaring vocals and sonic guitars are amplified by orchestral bursts, giving the album the eclectic mix of style and sound you would expect or rather, hope to hear from any decent film soundtrack.
Collaborators on this album include black mountain, acclaimed director and primary influence, Abel Ferrara, and QOTSA’s Josh Homme, who lends his textbook rock drawls to ‘Chemical’, a track that could quite easily fit in on any Queens’ record – still, its a beast of a song, and definitely one of the highlights.
Overall, this is a wealth of work bursting with ideas and although experimental, is surprisingly cohesive. In short: a damn good record!