Various Artists
Groove OST
[Kinetic]
Rating: 5.7
Funny, I'm not at a rave, and I'm certainly not on e, yet I'm grinding my
teeth. Maybe it's the music.
Sony Pictures' attempt to cash in on the burgeoning rave culture with the
plotless feature, Groove, succeeds, in a way. The film's soundtrack
sits nicely alongside the other dozens of "continuous mix" compilations that
see release every year. Of course, this probably says more about electronic
music that it does about Sony's shot at street cred.
The film's music supervisor, DJ Wish FM, assembled each of the album's 14
tracks into a seamless mix. This proves to be no large feat, as the entire
first half of the disc shares almost the exact same BPM. And truthfully, for
the record's entire first half, it would take a watchful eye on the disc player
display to determine where one track ends and the next begins. Sure, some slight
variations appear, but none are substantial enough to stir interest, and the
others are too predictable to be subtle. Every five or six minutes, a new bassline,
synth sweep, or percussion flourish arises, with little consideration to
composition or cohesion. Yes, it's dance music.
Fortunately, the second half the album is a little more interesting. Orbital
drops an ethereal female vocal over "Halcyon + On + On" to better effect than
the over-the-top vamping of the album's earlier vocal samples. Big-beat mainstay
Bedrock's "Heaven Scent" is poised as the high point of the film and the big
single off the soundtrack, but it stands out from the other tracks less than it
brings the homogenous elements to pounding new heights with a splashy synth
melody and monolithic bass pumping. The track also paves the way for Groove's
true standout. As "Heaven Scent" segues into Hybrid's "Beach Coma," the beat
dissolves almost entirely, replaced by a fizzing ambience of jazz sax and distant
hi-hat sizzle. Slowly, the tension rebuilds into a straightforward house beat
flanked by whirring basslines and minimalist piano flourishes.
The album ends on another high note with Scott Hardkiss' mix of Alter)Ring's
"Infinitely Gentle Blows." Sweeping in with oddly manipulated vocal textures,
the track sports a crisp beat whose bass boom actually makes room for a tight
snare on the upbeat. As with the Hybrid track, "Infinitely Gentle Blows" really
shines when the beat drops out and leaves the textures sputtering into each other,
one gorgeous layer on top of the other in a dizzying free fall.
Like any mix worth its salt, Groove has enough exceptional moments to
occasionally overcome the underwhelming sameness, but is ultimately much more
suited to the dancefloor than the home stereo.
-Al Shipley