Queer As Folk Fourth Season Queer As Folk: The Fourth Season Soundtrack CD

Audio Mixer: Burnside Project.

Liner Note Authors: Daniel Lipman; Ron Cowen.

Arranger: Goldfrapp.

Queer as Folk: The Fourth Season continues the move toward rock and pop and away from the dance music that dominated the soundtracks from the show's previous seasons. True, Burnside Project's "Cue the Pulse to Begin," Jason Nevins' "I'm the Main Man," Kodo's "Strobe's Nanafushi," and Origene's "Sanctuary" all have a dance edge in greater or lesser degrees, but most of the soundtrack seems more oriented toward headphones or living rooms than a night on the tiles. The bittersweet pop of the Eels' "Love of the Loveless" and the Reindeer Section's brighter-sounding but just as earnest "You Are My Joy" are the best examples of this trend, but it's also reflected in the post-post-punk of the Uncut's "Understanding the New Violence" and the nu-new wave of Ima Robot's "Scream." Goldfrapp's slinky, driving "Train" and TV on the Radio's cryptically kinetic "Satellite" are two of Queer as Folk: The Fourth Season's best tracks, and two of the album's best reconciliations between electronic and rock leanings. And while it's not as decadently romantic as Suede's heyday, "Attitude" is certainly witty and stylish enough to earn a place here; likewise, the gender-bending cabaret of Andrea Menard's "If I Were a Man" adds a playful wink to the proceedings. It may not be the most cohesive of the Queer as Folk soundtracks, but Queer as Folk: The Fourth Season is the most diverse of the bunch, and a good indicator of the show's increasing complexity and maturity. ~ Heather Phares