Nick Cave & Warren Ellis

White Lunar (Mute)

By Selena Fragassi
Published: September 30th, 2009 | 6:00pm

The storied history of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis could read like a movie, the two having spent the better part of the past 15 years creating illustriously sonic escapades for such appreciated bands as the Bad Seeds, Grinderman, and the Dirty Three. But it is perhaps the duo’s latest contribution to an already stunning library that proves them as compelling and deftly disturbed film composers. To say the two-disc White Lunar compilation is complicated is an understatement, but one that is appropriate and encouraging given the emotional pull and orchestrated range that encompass the 33 deeply provocative songs.

Disc one begins with the solid punch of “Song For Jesse,” a haunting, noir-driven journey that remains powerful in its effortless and enigmatic ripples of sound. The song is one of the obvious highlights, and likely most familiar, as the main ode in 2007’s The Assassination Of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford. Like Johnny Greenwood’s trail-blazing soundtrack for There Will Be Blood (yet another that was shunned from Academy Award accolades) many of the songs on the first disc of White Lunar use modest string arrangements and lush piano for pioneering fits with modern vibrations. All 17 tracks on this disc are the backbone of major motion pictures, including 2005’s The Proposition, and premiere tracks from the soon-to-be-released The Road, based on Cormac McCarthy’s lauded novel.

What is even more admirable about these numbers is their ability to evoke such sensational emotion without the poignant lyrical craft of Cave, which remains largely absent in the compilation. A few must-listen exceptions are “Gun Thing,” which pairs his sub-level register with morose strings and warped record scratches; “The Proposition No. 1,” which cues an eerie, humming backdrop; and “The Rider No. 2,” which pairs dueling poetry slams with an obliterating guitar riff before an abrupt landslide into the ether.

Disc two, although outfitted with more cryptic song titles, seems less daunting after listening to its heavy predecessor. But perhaps it’s a matter of subject, since these tracks were created for two documentaries, The English Surgeon (about a determined neurosurgeon in post-Soviet Ukraine) and The Girls Of Phnom Penh (detailing young sex workers in Cambodia). Less sweeping in stature, the tracks are alluring, but obviously careful not to interfere with the task of the films.

Again, the second disc starts out with its strongest track, “Srey Leak,” a horror-filled song smitten on ship lore, complete with echoing foghorns and tunnels of captive sound. Later, “Rom” follows a quieter pattern on the disc, with traditional sounds of the Orient proving the duo’s keen ability to branch out in composition — even within the same project. The songs from The English Surgeon are more calculated and almost scientifically matched with the subject matter, notably “Brain Retractor,” a song filled with urgency. Disc two also premieres four never-before-heard tracks from the Cave-Ellis archive that are a pleasing interruption, but take a backseat to the film numbers. This all amounts to a thrilling sequel to the uncompleted works of one of music’s greatest collaborations.

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