After years of being relatively chilled by movie soundtracks peddled as full-length albums — anyone remember Zidane? — I’ve come to view the medium as ample enough on its own (by dint of the Fantastic Planet, Once Upon a Time in America, and Brown Bunny scores, among many others), as important to underground/above-ground listeners as proper albums and, occasionally, even more important.
But what about video game soundtracks? In this case, I’d say it’s a big 10-4: Machinarium, by Tomáš Dvořák (now in a third pressing of 500 circa the Czech Republic’s Minority Records), far from representing an assortment of overly subtle sounds meant only as a background accompaniment, reaches the same heights you’d expect from a traditional full-length recording. What’s more, at its best moments, it spirals even higher into the stratosphere like a good, solid Warp-sponsored outing or a mechanized reverse-doppelganger to Gorillaz recordings and old-hat trip-hop acts like Tricky, the main difference being that Dvořák’s selections work best when the beatz are minimal; when he brings a banger, it often distracts from, nay degrades, the true strength of the compositions (mood, melody, savvy via digital-effects).
I can only imagine — as I don’t even own a current-generation video-game console because, you know, I have a lot of TV watching to do — what Machinarium is like to play (perhaps a Sim City-style environment for robots?), because listening to its audio progressions is engrossing, if not all-encompassing. The gamut ranges from bloopy, future-sound digital visions to vaguely IDM-ish/Four Tet-laden beatscapes to more organic compositions with the expected range of strings and instruments.
A lot of the folks going all gummy over instrumental groups like Pink Skull, CFCF, and Gobble Gobble will gush all over this warm, gooey hot-mess, as will many heads in places you wouldn’t expect (enthusiasts of Thundercats, Lindstrøm/Prins Thomas, Ratatat, Rafael Toral, The Team LG, Tuxedomoon, et al.). Whatever persuasion you are — hey, maybe video game enthusiasts will be spinning this? — Dvořák’s Machinarium will likely hook you, one way or another, and I haven’t even delved into the lovely artwork enough. Just don’t let those pixelated chunks rot your brain.
More about: Tomáš Dvořák
