An accompaniment to the animated film Varmints, this is a collection of achingly beautiful orchestral work balanced on a bed of Jóhannsson’s patented electronics. Surprisingly however, the film itself is not intrinsic to the enjoyment of the music; Jóhannsson’s score stands alone perfectly as a haunting collection of tracks. As with most soundtracks, the album is made up of a selection of repeating themes which appear and disappear throughout the record; Jóhannsson manages to approach this with such subtlety you can’t always even tell that a familiar theme is drifting in and out of each track. The clouds of ambience and growls of synthesizer that underpin the lilt of the orchestra are crucial to the record and give a similar warmth similar to what made Englaborn so very special. These pieces are memorable and deeply moving, and within one listen you could almost visualise the film itself, or at least a home made version. Soundtrack or not, Jóhannsson created here yet another peerless collection of electronic / classical vignettes you won’t be forgetting any time soon.
