Lynne Ramsay’s criminally under-seen Morvern Callar is a beautiful and sad film about death and life. Without giving too much away, Samantha Morton plays Morvern Callar, a Scottish grocery store worker who comes home and finds her boyfriend has committed suicide. A journey of self-discovery is in order, and this is where this soundtrack comes in. Her boyfriend makes her a mix tape of tunes to inspire her and remember him by. The songs on this disc represent the tape and the overall journey of Morvern Callar.

Expression and communication are fundamental on this collection of tunes because there is an overall lack of spelled out messages. Can’s “I Want More” and “Spoon” are all about movement in this chaotic world. You learn about who Morvern’s lover was through his taste in music. He had great taste and leaves a lasting impact. This is one of the most evocative soundtracks in some time. Listening to “Some Velvet Morning” by Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood is to relive the scene that accompanies it from the film. It is so well used in the film, that it almost seems like it was expressly created for the scene itself.

Don’t think that things are all gloom and doom. Ween’s humorous “Japanese Cowboy” shows up just when the razor is about to hit the vein. The contributions from other Warp acts Aphex Twin (“Goon Gumpas” and “Nannou”), Boards of Canada (“Everything You Do Is a Balloon”) and Broadcast (“You Can Fall”) are the brightest and most telling moments on the album. Their sound expressions, like the film, are unique, singular and, most of all, wholly original.

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