Once upon a time, movies were silent and orchestras performed in the pits. Over the past few years, 3epkano and their contemporaries have attempted to revive the practice; The Artist is the next logical step. The film is already an awards darling, and the music is a major contributing factor. Bource‘s score, brought elegantly to life by the Flanders Philharmonic Orchestra, is required to fill the dramatic gap created by the excision of dialogue. It succeeds by creating a sonic homage to the 1920s and 1930s that is true to both form and image. The main theme is insanely catchy, and the mood is exuberant throughout. The only exception is the brass maelstrom of “L’Ombre Des Hammes”, the albums best track and the background to the film’s darkest scene. A few vintage songs, “Pennies from Heaven” and Duke Ellington’s “Jubilee Stomp” among them, help to establish a sense of time and place, but Bource honors his influences by making the new seem old and the old seem new. (Richard Allen)
a closer listen 