Haunting `Kids' soundtrack chills, Armatrading waxes repetitious
I'm still not sure if I like this CD or not. Yet I keep listening to it. There's something chillingly compelling about the soundtrack to Larry Clark's controversial film Kids . The music is haunting; it calls me to it, and I can't quite manage to get the CD out of my stereo.
Anyone not living in a vacuum for the past few months knows about this disturbing movie. The soundtrack, produced by producer Clark and screenwriters Harmony Korine and Cary Woods, complements the rough, slightly scary feel of the screenplay. Out of the film's context, the CD probably wouldn't prove as engaging. Listening to the music and thinking of the kids in the film prove downright eerie.
Most of the 13 rough-hewn lo-fi songs are performed by Folk Implosion, whose members are John Davis and Lou Barlow of Sebadoah. Some are from Deluxe Folk Implosion, which also includes Bob Fay and Mark Perretta. The other songs are from Sebadoah, Daniel Johnson, Lo-Down and Splint.
Of course, some songs are better than others. Deluxe Folk Implosion's "Daddy Never Understood" leaves me cold; Folk Implosion's "Nothing Gonna Stop" is more satisfying. My favorite is Sebadoah's "Spoiled," a song that combines jangling guitars with a frighteningly simple melody and disconcerting words. The track wedges itself under my skin and sends shivers down my spine.
But I want to listen to it again.
What's Inside
I don't dislike this CD; I don't love it. I'm not sure why not. Joan Armatrading's musical talent is evident in this collection of 13 songs: nice acoustic guitar, competent keyboards and percussion, melodious string accompaniment from the London Metropolitan Orchestra and Armatrading's sonorous voice over it all.
Maybe it's the lyrics. All of the songs are standard, run-of-the-mill love songs, or unlucky-in-love songs. Look at the titles: "In Your Eyes," "Merchant of Love," "Lost the Love," "Would You Like to Dance," "Recommend My Love," "Can't Stop Loving You." I see a recurring theme here.
Love songs or breakup songs aren't necessarily bad, but Armatrading's remain too superficial to be good. Her lyrics tend to be wimpy, and she packs none of the punch that other female songwriters carry. Her feminist musical companions have found their voices and some balls, but Armatrading still adopts a whiny, hurt stance -- and a simplistic, trite one at that. With lines like, "As bright as the stars/As blue as the sky/I could die/In your eyes," Armitrading wins few points for originality or depth of sentiment. I listen to this album and wait for her to say something, but she never does.
Her delivery also leaves something to be desired. Grittier tunes like "Back on the Road" come off better than tomorrow's easy listening favorite "Merchant of Love." But even at her most rollicking, Armatrading still seems to be holding back. It's too bad that her emotion never compares to her musicianship.
This CD's title, What's Inside answers its own question: virtually nothing.
This item appeared in the Arts & Entertainment section of the October 13, 1995 issue.
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