Broken English Soundtrack CD

For her directorial debut, Zoe Cassavetes opted for an unconventional film score, turning to the French DJ duo of Maud Geffray and Sebastien Chenut, aka Scratch Massive, for electronic dance music. Joined by I Am Kloot and Juan Trip, the group turned out background music that, as heard on this soundtrack album, makes for a satisfying workout in electronica, quite apart from its uses in the movie. There are ponderous instrumentals like the opening track, "In the Dressing Room" and the ambient "Soleil Noir," which is punctuated by electronic noises, and there are dance-pop tunes such as the appropriately titled "Dance." The lengthy "A Lovely Desire" has a coda that could be fit into any number of classic rock songs, and "Seeing Is Believing" sounds like new wave rock. Juan Trip's tracks, meanwhile, often recall '60s pop/rock. Inevitably, the album ends with a cover of Marianne Faithfull's 1979 dance-rock standard "Broken English." While much of this music may have been written for the film and may work as its score, the album comes off less as a soundtrack than as a regular release by Scratch Massive with guests. ~ William Ruhlmann

Audio Mixers: Maud Geffray; Sebastien Chenut.