With a third of the tracks on the record clocking in at under a minute or just over, you could make more of a case for the film cue aspect of the title, but most play more as reprise/interludes to the other main tracks.
Some of the highlights include "Nocturnal" with its anthemic rock shine, and the short re-working of "Chemistry" from War Stories. "Against the Grain," in all of its ethereal float, is one of the better showcases so far for Gavin Clark's vocals, as is the Americana rock swagger of "Blade In The Back." The latter especially captures a lot of the energy present in War Stories to great effect. Stories for film? This one in particular has bad-ass spaghetti western written all over it.
Amongst the tracks that don't quite fit in include "Trouble In Paradise," which is a shame as it's one of the few cinematic pieces on the record. But instead of giving the album rich diversity, it sounds more like a standard film cue. It doesn't really sound that much like Unkle, and is reinforced by the fact that there are no other tracks on the record (or any of their other main releases) like it. It's a very nice piece on its own, but is oddly isolated.
In a similar way, the following track "Can't Hurt" sticks out. This time it's in more of a bouncy pop-rock way. And the thought of Unkle doing bouncy pop-rock is a tad unsettling. In fairness though, it transitions much better to the instrumental "24 Frames." Catchy? Sure. Needed? Perhaps less so.
But overall, this is a strong follow-up in the style of War Stories. It remains to be seen whether Unkle will keep this particular vibe around for another record, but with the release now of two CDs worth, I'm hoping they surprise us with something else entirely next time.
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