ALBUM: The Man of Aran
ARTIST: British Sea Power
LABEL: Rough Trade
Available with DVD May 25



When the British Film Institute gave the chance to compose a new soundtrack for a reissue of a documentary classic to British Sea Power, there was undoubtedly plenty of discussion of other names as well. Lucky for them, they went with a strong choice and the composition on these tracks is some of their most gorgeous work to date.

That said, the CD is packaged with the DVD for good reason. Attractive, pleasant pieces of music with the context of the film and as background music, they are not really the sort of things that the fans are looking for as they await the fifth release from the band. They are well composed and thoughtful pieces, hints of their rock sound mingling into ambient and classical forms. Vocals are not present on the majority of the tracks through the disc - they'd simply be too distracting.

An academic piece, it shows a lot of depth and ambition from the band - just not something that will blend into their body of work thus far.

REVIEWED BY RAIN PLETCHER