Hands That Bind - 2023 US Drag City Label 8-track LP

In addition to his day job transforming pop music with his own records, as well as those of Gastr del Sol, Loose Fur and Sonic Youth over the past few decades, Jim O’Rourke has been contracted for several dozen film scores over the years as well. It makes sense—his abilities as an improviser, composer and producer allow him to interpret cinematic moments with a unique understanding for their construction and how they work. It doesn’t hurt that Jim’s a well-versed cineaste, a complete and total fan of watching films, which has given him a preternatural understanding of the role of music in movies. O’Rourke’s process—sourcing resonant sounds to be enmeshed together into a music that supersedes their resident parts—makes a fitting soundtrack for Kyle Armstrong’s “prairie gothic” tale of down-on-the-farm horror way up north in Canada. His minimalist score inhabits the wide open, big sky landscape, flowing into suddenly-deep (and opaque) emotional waters, then panning out to a chilly omniscient remove. RIYL: Ambient, new age, mod comp.

Tracklisting:

Side 1.
1. Go Spend Some Time With Your Kids   
2. Wasn't There Last Night   
3. He's Only Got One Oar In The Water   
4. That's Not How The World Works   
5. A Man's Mind Will Play Tricks On Him   

Side 2.
1. Here Is Where I Seem To Be / The Good Lord Doesn't Need Paperwork   
2. You Have No Idea What I Want   
3. One Way Or Another I'm Gone