Gruff Rhys
★★★
The Almond & The Seahorse
ROUGH TRADE. DL/LP
Super Furry Animals man scores British film about amnesia starring Charlotte Gainsbourg.
Long adept at diversification, Gruff Rhys has previously penned computer game music and an opera libretto. This, his second full soundtrack, fuses songs and an instrumental score, and is named for the nicknames given to the parts of our brains which maintain memories. Amen, part smudged schoolroom piano, part pop-psych, is central since its lyrics about yearning and frustration echo the film’s plot, while Rhys also makes extensive use of cello and subtle Mellotron in “a varied quilt” of 22 often bijou tracks which sometimes reprise key melodic motifs. Joe’s Theme, all waltzing shades of Yann Tiersen’s Amélie score, is lovely, but decoupled from the film’s visuals it’s the original songs which captivate most here, especially intimate ballads Liberate Me From The Love Song and Orea. “The age of the austere/Was never a good idea”, sings Rhys on the latter.