The Inner Cinema

The Inner Cinema sees the collaboration between David Thrussell and Pieter Bourke evolve and deepen from the tone set by the debut release, Hollow Earth. Thrussell's hard electronic tendency, evidenced in his other acts, Snog and Black Lung, is tempered with Bourke's organic sensibility to create a range of soundscapes that compels the imagination. The different scenes that The Inner Cinema paints do not fall into the category of ambient mood music. Without breaking type, each track is different, setting up a distinct reflective feel that marries acoustic and electronic voices and cultural flavors. At times spaghetti Western, at others a panoramic establishment wide shot, and at yet others a poignant vignette, Soma has captured the imaginary spaces of soundtracks without films. "Stygian Vista" is a blend of steel-string guitar, smooth electro bass, and synth washes laced with small acoustic drums and gunshots. There is no weak point or even flow — each of the ten remaining tracks is a stand-alone scene that tells its own story, each as well realized as the last. The mood on "The Drunken Atlantean" is different again, with a ponderous electro riff and light percussion that gain gravity as the track proceeds to its quiet conclusion. "Baal"'s urgency and driven percussion picks up the pace, reinforced by electronic elements and trumpets that come straight from the Ennio Morricone stable. Soma touches on a variety of moods without compromising the organizing principles of The Inner Cinema — it just works. Neither artist's voice dominates in a space shared by two obviously talented artists. Soma has stolen glimpses of a faraway place and packaged them for review in The Inner Cinema. It is not the same tone as predecessor Hollow Earth, but the end you arrive at is not what Soma seems to be focused on — it is the journey.