Short Careers

by Eric Bachmann

Overview

Though Short Careers is a masterfully emotive film score for the twisted, evil baseball player flick Ball of Wax, the songs lack the pop crunch of Eric Bachmann's Archers of Loaf and the folk song structures of Crooked Fingers. Short Careers is reminiscent of the score work of two other indie gurus turned film composers -- Stephin Merritt of the Magnetic Fields and Mac McCaughan of Superchunk and Portastatic. Like Merritt's Eban & Charley, Short Careers lacks the pop center and rolling melodies so present in both musicians' other projects, and it never really matches the accessibility of Portastatic's Looking for Leonard. But it's difficult for music to function as both a film score and an album, and Short Careers does excel in the former. The string arrangements on tracks like "Finding the Holes Filling the Gaps" are beautiful while being unsentimental. "Jimmy the Enforcer" has the feeling of a fun house -- a twisted carnival underworld that glitters on the surface -- and recalls both the theme from the film Boogie Nights and "Shadow's Theme," the Dark Fantastic's ending to their first self-titled album. The title track is a somber, piano affair, equal parts David Lynch and Atom Egoyan. Short Careers proves that Eric Bachmann is the go-to guy for indie filmmakers, but that the score might not sell all that many records. ~ Charles Spano

Product Details

Release Date:	08/20/2002
Label:	Merge
UPC:	0036172951222
Rank:	164239

Tracks

1. Good Morning Sleepyhead
2. Forks and Knives
3. A Diamond Is the Devil's Eye
4. Finding the Holes Filling the Gaps
5. Jimmy the Enforcer
6. Aspirin Vs. Arsenic
7. Short Careers
8. The Mysterious Death of Robert Tower
9. Nosebleed
10. Vision and Execution
11. Reach Out and Touch Someone
12. Ty Cobb

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Eric Bachmann   Primary Artist,Loops,Piano,Guitar,Hand Percussion
Wade Rittenberry   Primary Artist,Bass (Upright)
Maria Taylor   Primary Artist,Chords
Evan Thomas   Primary Artist,Drums
Eunice Kang   Primary Artist,Cello
Andrej Kurti   Violin

Technical Credits

Andrej Kurti   Producer,Arranger
Ben Shepherd   Composer
Eric Bachmann   Arranger,Composer,Producer,Performer
Maria Taylor   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Evan Thomas   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Jeff Capurso   Mastering
Eunice Kang   Arranger,Composer,Producer
Wade Rittenberry   Arranger,Composer,Producer