Prior to a coda that recalls David Axelrod’s peak studio sounds, Violent Hand of the Sleeping City begins with hypnotic, choral chanting (a pattern that routinely repeats throughout). With assistance from over twenty musicians (including a melange of string, brass, woodwinds & vibraphone), the record is the work of Seattle-based musician & composer Sean Wolcott. Besides the occasional moment of hushed, melodic background hums, the albums grooves along like a classic OST: lush instrumental vignettes and full-fledged orchestral sequences (such as the cinematic horns on “Excessive Use of Force”), fit for the frantic turns of a classic filmic car chase.
If Violent Hand of the Sleeping City feels like the soundtrack to a mid-century noir film that doesn’t actually exist, well, that’s the point. With a background in television & film scoring, the composer self-describes the record’s mutated jazz as a homage to 1970s crime film scores. The tactile, analogue feel of the record can be attributed to the fact that Wolcott also operates Soundview Analog Recorders (a studio filled with museum-worthy archival recording equipment, even a four-track tape recorder used on Pet Sounds). After this heady trail of instrumentals, closing track “With All That Is Left” introduces us to these library sounds flanked by gorgeous vocals from Lauren Santi. Equal parts Bacharach and Superfly, this is soundtrack work (fictional or not) at its best, regardless of era. | m neeley
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