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Mirrormask: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack by Iain Ballamy
01/11/2005 . Source: Paul Skevington 
CD pub: La-La Land Records/Jim Henson Company LLLCD 1031. 74 minutes 30 tracks. Price: £12.99 (UK). Buy Mirrormask in the USA - or Buy Mirrormask in the UK  check out website: www.lalalandrecords.com
I've never listened to a soundtrack before I've seen the film it sprang from. This is in part due to the experience of a friend of mine. A huge 'Star Wars' fan, he decided to pick up the score to 'The Phantom Menace' prior to the release of the film. Helpfully track sixteen is entitled 'High Council Meeting/Qui-Gon's funeral'. So much for the surprise then, although like me, he was still quite stunned to see a Jedi Master die like such a big girl's blouse.
So it was with trepidation that I picked up the inlay for 'Mirrormask'. I've been waiting for this film to come out for months. I was waiting even before Dave McKean and Neil Gaiman conceived of making it. I believe it is possible that an element of my consciousness was impatiently counting the seconds until this film's arrival sometime just after the creation of the universe. I still haven't seen the bloody thing, but luckily a combination of enigmatic track titles and my singular determination not to think about them too hard has left me none the wiser to the films actual plot. At the same time, I have been given a glimpse into the world of 'Mirrormask' and if the quality of this album is anything to go by, we are all in for a very big treat indeed.
The majority of the music is composed and arranged by Iain Ballamy, who has done a wonderful job in creating a distinct and varied soundscape that envelops the listener immediately. Tracks one to three establish the mood with a strong European sound. The accordion plays a large part in the early section of this album. It seems to be used to create a sense of the 'normal' or 'safe' world. It bookends the album, perhaps representing a return to safety, the natural end of most fairy tales and children's stories.
Track four 'Gorillas!' then bursts in, sounding like the score to a 1920s silent movie, manic, exciting and totally pulse pounding!
The track entitled 'Running For The Bus' is transitionary, the music moves into a much more dream-like phase as the guitar slinks and sulks it's way through the notes, segueing nicely into 'Abandoned Hall'. It's a magical piece that seeks to amp up the weirdness and tension with the intrusion of more electronic sounds, building to an unnerving crescendo. A sense of high theatre is clearly present throughout the album.
Going forward, the score gets stranger and stranger and even more interesting. Weird vocal wailings wrap themselves around the instruments, unnatural buzzing and humming noises augment disturbing gargling sounds. A strong percussive beat in the track 'Giants Orbiting' is reminiscent of the skilful way drums were used to create the tension of the street battle in the 'Akira' movie soundtrack - both induce the same adrenaline soaked response in the listener.
These central, darker sections of music remind me also of the music of composer Akira Yamaoka, whose themes for the 'Silent Hill' series of games are for me the epitome of otherworldliness. Yamaoka also uses percussion and unusual samples to elicit a sense of the unreal in his music. This score easily matches the best of Yamaoka's work in this respect. Gloriously, these dark hued and malevolent tunes are balanced by wildly eccentric tracks like 'Mrs Bagwell's Rhumba'. Its bonkers and exaggerated vocals are a pure delight, weaving in and out of comprehensibility. I think I did manage to catch the line 'Silly boy, you can't come to my place.' I've no idea what it means, but I love it!
There are, of course, a couple of musical money-shots on the album. The much-vaunted track 'Close To You' is a bizarre cover of Burt Bacharach's old hit. It mixes harmony and discord perfectly and is sung by the indescribably good Josefine Cronholm to the accompaniment of various mechanical squeaks and whines. The lyrics are breathily delivered and hastily ended, enhancing the clockwork-like sound.
The massive 'Discoveries/Fight Or Flight?/Goodbye Evil Helena', weighing in at around ten minutes in length, is another obvious focal piece. It begins with music box tinklings, often used in fantasy and horror films, such as 'Candyman' and 'Labyrinth', to create the sense of nebulous wonder we all love so much to experience. An ominous note is quickly added, leading to a bizarre rewind effect, followed by an Asian sounding burst of noise. We then get more twisting cello, accompanied by gargles and groans. Eventually, we arrive at the obligatory 'triumph music'.
Finishing the album is a song actually written by McKean and Gaiman. It's singularly beautiful, the sort of song that would have worn out the rewind button on your cassette recorder back in the good old days. Cronholm's voice soars through it, giving flight to Gaiman words. Here's a sample of the lyrics:
But
it's a dream
when you seem
to be walking into the sun
we're on first
unrehearsed
and we still don't know what we've done
so we don't say anything.
As usual, Gaiman demonstrates that he can make words into mountains of meaning, no matter what the medium he is using. However, it doesn't hurt that he's using McKean's wonderful music this time.
Produced by Ashley Slater and incorporating the skills of many talented musicians, this album is one that should be on the shelves of every music lover. Eminently re-playable, exquisitely crazy, this CD is the music your mind makes when your dreams take you to the deepest places imaginable. You won't ever regret putting on the 'Mirrormask'.
Paul Skevington
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