View Larger
Rate it!
Avg: 3.5 (53 ratings)
- Date Released: June 9, 2009
- Genre: Alternative/Punk
- Label: Rough Trade / Beggars Group
British Sea Power go even more epic, scoring a classic documentary with sweeping post-rock
-
We Say...
Given its affinity for historic imagery, naturalist onstage décor and maritime-themed pomp, Brighton, England's British Sea Power isn't the oddest choice to record a new score for a 1934 silent film about rugged life on the Aran islands off Ireland's western coast. But having an indie band replace the film's original soundtrack of Irish folk songs with eruptive post-rock guitar orchestrations isn't exactly a documentarian's dream, either. (Imagine the collective film-buff sneer were, say, the Decemberists to re-score a classic Western.)
The point, of course, is to put a new face on Man Of Aran, shot by American filmmaker Robert J. Flaherty, who's most famous for 1922's Nanook Of The North. Man Of Aran itself is docufiction; its footage comprises both real and staged scenes of human subsistence in the unforgiving environment of the Aran islands: splitting rocks to find precious soil, harvesting seaweed to use as mulch in potato fields, repairing boat hulls with oilcloth. British Sea Power lends brave, melodic piano motifs to images of mundane toil and it imparts ominous shudders of feedback to waves crashing against rocks, making the man-versus-nature theme abundantly clear. The soundtrack is nearly devoid of vocals, save for "Come Wander With Me," which sounds like an eerie Irish folk lament but is actually a cover of a song from a 1964 episode of The Twilight Zone. Mogwai and Sigur Ros would've killed to write music for the nautical scenes; the kinetic build-and-release of "The South Sound" and bathyspheric echo of "Spearing The Sunfish" each unleash furious floor toms and distorted guitars to highlight the hunting of the basking shark, a prehistoric-looking behemoth that resembles some fictional creature from The Life Aquatic With Steve Zissou.
To the benefit of the stand-alone soundtrack, British Sea Power — as if to up the ante on the epic pretensions of 2008 album Do You Like Rock Music? — packs much more excitement into the music than what actually happens onscreen. Whether large-scale post-rock was ever meant for the pre-industrial Man Of Aran is debatable, but the result is not only a radical reimagining of the film but of British Sea Power itself. -
They Say...
Man of Aran, a 1934 docu-drama that chronicled the difficult daily lives of the inhabitants of Western Ireland's remote Aran Islands, boasts all of the elements (wind, water, sky, and barren landscapes) that make a successful British Sea Power song, so it's no revelation that the band's soundtrack for the film fits like a pair of weather-beaten oars in a pair of equally ancient hands. The direct antithesis of 2008's stadium ready Do You Like Rock Music?, the largely instrumental Man of Aran (only the folksy "Come Wander with Me," a cover culled from an obscure 1964 Twilight Zone episode, features vocals) unfolds like a wave in the middle of the ocean with its sights set on a rocky shore. With the main melody of Rock Music's "The Great Skua" as its backbone, British Sea Power's penchant for slow-building post-rock vistas and reverb-drenched bursts of guitar, trumpet, and violin has reached its logical crescendo. While not as awe-inspiring as it yearns to be, Man of Aran deftly fuses the imagery of the open water to the sound it makes when dripping out of a vintage tube amplifier. On its own, listeners may be lulled to the chilly deeps of sleep, but paired with the accompanying DVD, they'll be wiping the salt spray from their brows and pulling long rows of kelp out of their teeth.
“ The indie iTunes — Hardcore music fans are migrating to eMusic, the iTunes Music Store's cheaper, cooler cousin.”
Rolling Stone
eMusic Tip
Paid downloads are counted towards an album discount but free downloads are not.
COMPLETE FOR FREE!
You can download the rest of the tracks from this album for free! Just click the Complete Album button.
We’re sorry this album can only be downloaded using paid subscription download credits.
We recommend you Save it for Later by clicking the Save for Later button shown just above this message. For a list of related albums you can download right now, check out these recommendations.
We'll give you 12 additional free credits to download this album and start your paid subscription.
Get 12 bonus credits on us if you download this album. Sweet!
| 01. |  |
Man Of Aran |
3:39 |
|
| 02. | |
The South Sound |
11:32 |
|
| 03. | |
Come Wander With Me |
4:11 |
|
| 04. | |
Tiger King |
5:16 |
|
| 05. | |
The Currach |
2:10 |
|
| 06. | |
Boy Vertiginous |
5:16 |
|
| 07. | |
Spearing The Sunfish |
11:42 |
|
| 08. | |
Conneely Of The West |
4:20 |
|
| 09. | |
The North Sound |
4:55 |
|
| 10. | |
Woman Of Aran |
4:35 |
|
| 11. | |
It Comes Back Again |
11:12 |
|
| 12. | |
No Man Is An Archipelago |
4:49 |
|
12 Total Tracks, 73:37 Total Length
Loading...
Playlists If you like British Sea Power, check out these member playlists
Choose from over 7 million
music downloadseMusic features legendary and emerging artists in every genre: classic rock to classical,indie to international, soundtracks to spiritual, jazz to country and many more.
MP3 downloads work on any digital media player
With eMusic, you OWN your music without any restrictions. Burn music to a CD, play it on your computer, mobile phone or any digital media player - including iPod®, Zune® and Walkman®.
Songs available for 50¢ or less
eMusic subscriptions start at just $11.99 a month for 24 downloads - that's just 50¢ per song! And it gets better from there - our plans go as low as 42¢ per song!
Music Discovery
eMusic is about discovery. We make finding new music fun again with music recommendations from our award-winning team of music experts, member playlists and new music features.
Cancel anytime
With all the great music and site features we're pretty sure you will love eMusic. If not, no problem. You can cancel at any time and keep the music you have downloaded.
© 1992 - 2009 All Media Guide, LLC