#411 Passengers - Original Sountracks 1

I really liked Zooropa, the oft-dismissed post-Achtung U2 experiment, and got intruiged when I heard about this little-noticed collaboration with Brian Eno.

Only a few of these songs were actually used in the films suggested by the title, but the whole project was composed with an eye towards soundtrack-ready music - most ambient, more about feel, less vocally driven. The problem here is that this comes across basically like a Brian Eno album with Bono on it, and I don't want Bono on my ambient, experimental tunes. Conversely, Bono is at his best when he's at his most soaring or his most icy, and the soundtrackey approach precludes the former and there's surprisingly little room for the latter.

The finest moments are the subtle pieces of guitar noise and Enoism, especially on the swervey opener that evokes Zooropa's title track, and the Laurie Andersonism and subbass buzz of A Different Kind of Blue. A disappointingly limp album that doesn't quite work as ambient, doesn't take enough real chances, though I admire its nerve in places 2.5/5

You might like this if: you enjoy the songs on the middle of Brian Eno's ambient-to-pop spectrum, and don't mind if things are a bit slower-paced.