Records: Movietone's Day and Night

I just read an essay in which W.H. Auden claims that movie music is only meant to cover extraneous noise and "is bad if we become consciously aware of its existence." I think Drag City's Movie-tone must also have read this recently. Their new album, Day and Night, reveals a similar understanding of the music which should properly accompany their band's name. I have had the album for almost a week, and have consciously decided to listen to it many times. Despite the angelic combination of graceful acoustic guitar chording and pulsating percussion, during each listening I have had trouble remaining aware of the music emanating from my speakers.

It is quite a pleasant bedtime accompaniment, especially for those who find falling asleep to be an arduous process. There are no distractions, such as lyrical moments that jab at emotions, or melodies that leap from the harmonic trance. Even violins meandering between shivering scratches and feeble harmonics fail to disturb a person's path to slumber. I have even had pleasant dreams after falling asleep to the album, often of gentle wildlife.

Unfortunately, dismissing the album as a soporific wonder drug, fun as that may be, is too simple a read. Movietone seem to be consciously reaching into that land of ambient dreamscapes. The vocals are done in airy whispers that frustrate the listener's attempts to piece together lyrical phrases. The instrumental foreground aggravates the pop music fan's frustration, sustaining one central groove for nearly every five-minute track. Some slightly unusual embellishments, such as a lone clarinet, drop in the mix. These visits, however, never serve as melodic interruptions to the unceasing cycle of sparse chords.

Despite Movietone's admirable attempt at aesthetic creativity, I'm not sure there is any place in our culture for ambient music built with elements of sparse low-fi pop music. Trance is meant for dancing and drugs, and Day and Night doesn't really fit either bill. If dreaming were a hip group activity, this band might be a smash hit. However, it doesn't look like our society will ever support post-kindergarten nap time. Too bad, because Movietone's uniquely beautiful soundscapes should find a home somewhere.

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