At The Movies “The Soundtrack Of Your Life Vol. 2”
The 90’s invoke memories of endless summers, big hair, first love and t-shirts that changed colour when you sweated. Nights spent meticulously recording your favourite hits from the radio, all bookended by the DJ’s voice as you press pause/record accordingly commonplace in every household.
Now it’s time to relive those halcyon days as summer arrives with At The Movies sequel to volume 1’s ode to the 80’s, as the Scandinavian supergroup bring those songs from your 90’s childhood movies to life in 2022.
Featuring movie classics like Notting Hill’s When You Say Nothing At All and Pretty Woman’s King Of Wishful Thinking the album is full of anthems you sung at school wishing you were whatever character Julia Roberts was playing.
While each track lovingly replicates the original arrangement, it’s encased in a modern pop metal style while being dropped into the 80’s vault of honey, bringing together three different eras for your sonic pleasure.
Whether it’s Britney Spears (You Drive Me) Crazy or the cracking version of Belinda Carlisle Heaven Is A Place On Earth, the songs are choc full of synthesised keyboards, harmonies and those dynamic lush choruses that permeated the airwaves, you can actually be forgiven of thinking you’ve been transported back to that eventful teenage summer of ‘92.
While some of the original recordings have dated over time, the respectful handling At The Movies shows the songs, gives new life to many of them such as Londonbeats I’ve Been Thinking About You which sounds vigorous and ready for a night on the town and who doesn’t love Bananarama’s Venus anyway? Yeah she’s got it alright.
The band consists of Pretty Maids Chris Laney, Allan Sorenson and Morten Sandagar, Night Flight Orchestra’s Bjorn Strid as well as an illustrious supporting cast of Scandinavian talent that is a fantastic example of musicianship, contrasts and styles that those in the north refuse to be boxed into.
Finishing with every 90’s broken hearted teenager’s anthem I Want It That Way, the chorus is amped through the guitars and the male/female harmonies are dynamic, displaying At The Movies own sugary sweet ode to a lost love.
Get in your car, turn the volume up to 11, drive to the beach with the windows down and sing ‘So tell me why, ain’t nothing but a heart ache…’
Album Review By Iain McCallum
