Biosphere ‎– Insomnia

Biosphere's soundtrack to Erik Skjoldbjærg's Nordic detective noir film, INSOMNIA, shows both the strengths and weaknesses of soundtracks in general. Strengths: excellent evocation of atmosphere. Weakness: lack of proper context for the sounds. Thus while the low throb that punctuates "Proem" or the disembodied voice on "Lounge" might amplifying a visual cue, taken from the film, they feel underdeveloped. "Forum" has a quiet haunt to it, while the plucked bass and guitar strums that comes emerge on "Ride" contrast the synth-based ambience elsewhere. The pervading sense on the album, however, is definitely paranoia, with contrasting high tones and low bass hits that keep the listener slightly off balance -- not to mention the angular harmonics ("Transit" manages all three at once). As fitting a soundtrack, most of the individual tracks are short, but they occasionally blend together. The longer "Tunnel," however, allows for a cut-up voice to appear, accompanied by a "Novelty Waves"-like bassline. The final track, a mix of various parts of the soundtrack by fellow Norwegians Alanïa, puts a downtempo spin to the what's come before. Enjoyable, but soundtracks are always sort of a mixed bag.