Hollywood movie music is notoriously conservative, so thank God for composers like Rebekka Karijord, who remind us of the elegant, post-rock possibilities that lie beyond the purview of a Hans Zimmer or a John Williams. An established solo artist, this collection showcases Karijord’s contributions to other people’s theatrical and cinematic art over the past half-dozen years.
Opener Prologue – one of several offerings from the movie Nowhere Home – balances Glass-like repetitions with extended string notes to conjure alienation and loss. By contrast, voice-driven Madrigal is balanced between the soothing and the menacing.
Like most movie music, Karijord’s work is discrete, but it offers scope for the listener to summon their own images. The twin influences of Eno and Arvo Pärt are close to the surface, but Karijord has a voice of her own. The counterpoint on Snö between synth repetitions and simple guitar riffs is part post-rock, part Pat Metheny, all Norwegian ice and fire.
This is no mere ambient doodling, but fully formed music. From the menace of Jag Ser Dig through to the melancholy of Anchor Boy, it’s Nordic cool at its most sublime.
