Point of Origin
Music composed by John Ottman
Available on La-La Land Records LLLCD 1011
Running Time: 30.23
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John Ottman does this kind of thing particularly well; a stylish, catchy thriller score with a certain amount of dark charm on a limited budget, allowing the composer to utilise his considerable skill with electronics and to fashion music that has its own distinctive 'electrophonic' sound. His fine work on Goodbye, Lover (1999) displayed a similar talent for edgy intrigue, and while this particular score is perhaps not quite in the same league, they are both very good examples of Ottman's individual style.
The punchy, rhythmic opening track 'Thinking it' with its subtly enigmatic motif (complete with typewriter sample effects) is the heart of the score, and is very much the main attention grabber. This theme is featured throughout (heard later to good advantage on 'Feeding the Ego'), but there is also a fair amount of resourceful, low-key suspense work to enjoy within the CD's relatively sparse running time of just over half-an-hour. Pieces such as 'Speech/Rewind' and 'Hero' convey a sense of mystery with their shimmering synth effects and clever percussion, and there is an overriding atmosphere of danger and deception that elevates the work a little higher than is so often the case with this type of thriller score.
A nod of approval to La-La Land Records for seeking out and making available this fairly obscure work by a consistently agreeable composer.
Mark Hockley
31/2
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