Oneohtrix Point Never Good Time (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Just got to get this off my chest: I’m having a Good Time. But judging by the grating intensity of some moments from OPN’s new score, something tells me the characters really aren’t. Just had a look and indeed, it’s a crime drama film (that I haven’t seen, of course), and the only people having a Good Time in a crime drama are about to be snuffed. I sure hope Lopatin wasn’t having a Good Time making this.

Don’t stop me now, cuz I’m writing a review here. Whew. Well, after a particularly crazy opening tune that’s like R+7 on shrooms, the listener is treated to a near-argument between some folks, which melts into a keytar part that’s straight off Garden of Delete, then thrust into caverns of foreboding grey, and that’s just the first 10 minutes. He hits on Cliff Martinez-esque 80s thematic arpeggios on the epic ‘Hospital Escape / Access-A-Ride’, before the electroacoustic scrape / vocal duet unsettles you with it’s weirdass collage.

As you can tell, it’s not your usual synth soundtrack. Lopatin has expertly melded ambient-influenced melodic synth themes with his signature tuning-in-and-out style, with sampled content morphing before you can realise what’s happened and oh look, a cop car is wailing by. The sounds of the film blend seamlessly into the digital deluge, taking you out of your listening spot and into a world of jail escapes and being chased by folks. I’m still having a Good Time.

It’s no surprise really that this won the tightly-named Soundtrack Award at the Cannes film festival. I mean, it’s great, and I haven’t even got to the bit that features Iggy Pop yet. Yep, you read that right - the Pop star is on a track produced by Oneohtrix Point Never. Let’s skip to that. Slow, dramatic, curtains-closing pianos set the bed for Iggy’s voice to snuggle into, all low and scratchy, but the song suddenly takes a super dark turn as the synths get a bit more dissonant and he starts doing some spoken word. After this brief moment of terror the song resurfaces, doing another verse before OPN’s synths wash over it, feeling pretty refreshing after all that. Stop me now.