Somewhere between his work with his band The Lost Cavalry and the various other things he seems to be doing, Mark West had time to write and perform the soundtrack for an upcoming British indie comedy called Booked Out.
It's a bit weird to listen to a soundtrack by itself, since the listener doesn't really know how the tracks fit together within the context of the story and all of it's varying moments. It loses a little something when you don't have that magical connection between the scene/character/etc and the music accompanying all the action and yet I was anxious to hear the soundtrack as soon as possible (probably because I won't see the film unless I really make a point to - it's in the UK after all...)
In a lot of ways, the music for Booked Out is somewhat similar to West's work in The Lost Cavalry, if only for "Booked Out" sounding very reminiscent of "Oh, Sally" off the Waves Freeze to Rolling Hills EP. And in a way that's not too bad, aside from setting up West with a signature composition style it also means that the soundtrack contains the level of competent storytelling that I've come to equate with Mark West's songwriting. And yet, perhaps due to West's collaboration with Derek Yau or by his own choice, the majority of the songs , while not losing their capable storytelling, sound new and exclusive to this project. There's also a heavy emphasis on melody and rarely do the tracks appear to just function as mood-indicators/musical placeholders (the only exceptions are "I Know What You're Up To" and "I've Not Told This Story For A While).
I haven't seen Booked Out but if it's even half as good as the soundtrack that accompanies it, I'm definitely excited to see it. The tracks have a standalone quality that makes purchasing the soundtrack a no-brainer. Sure, there's the question of context and meaning but many of the tracks are so evocative and well-composed that it's practically a non-issue (at least for the moment).
Give the soundtrack a listen via The Lost Cavalry's Bandcamp:
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