GRAHAM REYNOLDS - A Scanner Darkly: Original Soundtrack LP (Colour Vinyl)

Label: Lakeshore

How could a story of dependence on Substance D (“Death” for short) be created with multi-million-dollar stars in the frame anyway?

Director Richard Linklater had a plan; He’d use rotoscoping. The celebrities would be shrouded in mystery, in fact Keanu Reeves’ skin suit would make him almost invisible at times, a mumbling wreck swaying centre stage.

To complete the experience, a left field musical score was needed to ensure that everything wasn’t as it seemed. The phone books are full of creative composers but Graham Reynolds And His Golden Arm Trio jumped off the page. The band name is from a Frank Sinatra film where he plays a drug-addled muso. Perfect.

The resultant soundscape is itchy and scratchy, full of mood swings and musical metaphors, an ever changing and unpredictable set of highs littered with reflective undertones and occasional soft, almost super numb realities.