Search - Eric Bachmann :: Short Careers (Score)

As vocalist for grungy indie rockers Archers of Loaf, Eric Bachmann traded in pogo-ing, snappy pop. With post-Archers band Crooked Fingers, he turned orchestral and let a dark, folksy style drive his tales. It's from this perspective that Bachman models Short Careers, the score to the indie movie Ball of Wax. Accompanying a plot involving a baseball player turned bad, the instrumental score murmurs menace. Frequently utilizing rich, furrowing strings and twinkling percussion that's both ominous and innocent, tracks like "A Diamond Is the Devil's Eye" swell to intense, melodious climaxes. "Finding the Holes Filling the Gaps" is a carefully plucked dirge that ends like a macabre medieval dance, with guitar and string melodies darting between each other. Even better is standout "Reach Out and Touch Someone," a truly creepy song that creaks with violins and an eerie clanking noise and ends with a handful of chilling piano chords. Never monotonous, Short Careers is impeccably played and tells a cohesive tale rife with complications and resolutions, even without using vocals or words. It's said that every picture tells a story, but in this case it's certainly every lovely, disturbing note. --Annie Zaleski