1 |
Worried
Jasmine |
2 |
Sunrise
Jasmine |
3 |
Tattoo
31 |
4 |
Stone
Jasmine |
5 |
Dancing
Jasmine |
6 |
Night Bamboo |
| 7 |
Tattoo 10 |
8 |
Quiet
Jasmine |
9 |
Sisters Leaving |
10 |
Spider
Lilies |
11 |
Neglected
Lilies |
12 |
Tattoo
5 |
13 |
Little Jasmine |
14 |
Mandala |
15 |
Dawn Jasmine |
16 |
Red Cloud Jasmine |
SOUNDTRACK REVIEW:
Spider lilies may be flowers, but do not expect the music
on this soundtrack to be pretty and poetic. In fact, the score
composed by Huang Chien-Hsun and Chang Chien-Yu for the Taiwanese
lesbian-themed film is so edgy; it almost gave us a culture
shock.
The 59-minute
album produced by an indie label in Taiwan reminded us of
the hypnotic score French music duo Air composed for Sofia
Coppola’s The Virgin Suicides (1999).
Differentiated
by the different types of jasmines, the tracks are guitar
and synthesizer-heavy and breathes occasional female chorus
into tracks like “Dancing Jasmine” to add a touch
of feminism into an otherwise electronica score.
The calmer moments of the album will soothe your nerves in
tracks like “quiet Jasmine” and “Dawn Jasmine”.
These alluring pieces complement the delicate moods of the
movie nicely. For a rollicking time, go to the longest-running
track “Spider Lilies”, where all emotions and
sensations are let loose by the progressive instrumentations
in this 6-odd-minute track.
The film’s
director Zero Chou writes the lyrics for the movie’s
theme song “Little Jasmine”, which is hummed by
Taiwanese pop star Rainie Yang in the movie. No, she does
not perform the song here. Instead, we have an anonymous performer
who effectively belts out brings out the song’s melancholic
lyrics.
And
that is just right for this soundtrack. We don’t really
want to hear a sweetie pie’s voice to spoil the rawness
of this album, do we?
ALBUM
RATING:
 
Recommended Track: (10) Spider Lilies
Review
by John Li
|
