Karen O and the Kids – Where The Wild Things Are

It’s not often that you get to hear a soundtrack album ahead of the film, especially when that album was written especially for it. Karen O, better known as the singer from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, was given the task of scoring what is bound to be a bizarre and moving film by the producer himself, Spike Jonze, and has chosen to take a step back from her usual future punk style to deliver a richly textured and emotive folky affair.

That’s not at all what you’d have expected, so what might come as even more of a surprise is that she’s created a wonderful, childlike gem of an album, if a little confusing at times. There’s are elements of arty folk bands like The Acorn, coupled with the sublety and wistfulness of Vashti Bunyan, and where it needs to step up the pace it does so by becoming more bouncy and playful rather than spoiling the mood through extra volume alone. The tracks are sometimes cheeky, sometimes quite sad and sometimes riotous and joyful, but they’re all delivered with genuine feeling and mountains of charm.

What’s definitely clear is that the music is designed to flow with the visuals of the film, so there’s every possibility that the album will make more sense to many as a reminder of their favourite moments rather than a stand-alone soundtrack. That said, some of the tracks are so strong that they would make wonderful singles in themselves regardless of any connection with the film; Hideaway is gentle and distant, and Heads Up has a lovely psychedelic slacker vibe.

I’m not sure if people will want to risk a soundtrack full of brand new songs without first seeing the film, but in this case it’s definitely worth a go as you’ll definitely want it afterwards.