Special Notes:

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Lakeshore’s album of Butter features a multitude of 45 tracks, but the bulk of Mateo Messina’s score (based on the opening vocal cut) is comprised of very short cues – many running less than a minute – which makes the album sound more like a collection of musical stabs than a cohesive piece. Matt Messina’s retro-funk sound is really fun, replete with organ, tenor sax, drums, and electric bass, but the first third never develops into a full statement that’s actually listenable.

Wonderful cues like “Hey Boo” and “All I Have” start with a groove and fade out or unwind to silence, and this approach goes on for a while before “The Worst Bet,” the first full-ish theme statement, which runs under 2 mins. A few more bits & pieces follow until the album starts to offer slightly longer cuts, some with nice string backing. The score’s mood also shifts from optimistic / funky / playful to more emotionally fixed, like the orchestral “Broken Vagina,” with pensive strings and contemplative keyboards & piano.

Butter’s well orchestrated and bubbles with a great blend of funk and orchestra, but its filmic design – punctuating scenes with sharp statements and getting out fast, not to mention co-exiting with source music – makes for a deeply fractured album. Few musical thoughts are complete, and it’s a shame Messina chose not to craft album versions of dramatic highlights where the musicians could also indulge in a few heavy improvisations.

© 2012 Mark R. Hasan