Customer Reviews

Polish Night Music

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Inland Empire" seems to be more than a film, as it is the hub of a variety of Lynch works including photographs, some web shows, and now this album of music. "Polish Night Music" consists of four lengthy tracks exploring the aural environment of various portions "Inland Empire". If you have the soundtrack, listening to "Woods Variation" will give you a very close idea as to the sound of "Polish Night Music". Most of the music consists of some droning synthesizers over a bed of airy and menacing ambient textures. Acoustic piano occasionally provides some melodic motion, but for the most part, the atmosphere is dense and stagnant. I don't mean 'stagnant' in a bad way, but rather to suggest a very heavy feeling that really brings the listener down with a remarkable intensity and persistence.

While not for everyone, those who enjoy Lynch's signature dark sound design will enjoy this album. It also makes an interesting supplement to "Inland Empire." Where the film explores these characters, times, and places through images and a narrative, "Polish Night Music" explores them through sound.

A completists dream coupled with "The Air Is On Fire" which also replicates an incredible amount of the atmosphere contained in Inland Empire. Not a joyful trip by any means, but a continuation into the dreaded dream/nightmare feelings aroused by the movie.
This is dark and sad and heavy-leaden music. 5 stars for the amount of emotion it can instill (which is mostly paranoia induced). It does what it sets out to do and takes you on a journey which will leave you feeling very empty and odd. This will definitely bring you down. Not something to play on a regular basis for sure. Maybe once in a blue moon, but as I said this is for those who want to collect the whole Inland Empire experience. This is for those who aren't afraid to go places maybe we shouldn't; not too often anyway.

You don't have to buy into David Lynch's artistic vision as a filmmaker to enjoy this collaboration with Polish pianist Marek Zebrowski. Like some of the brooding walls of crawling sound Lynch employs in his movie soundtracks, "Polish Night Music" comprises four suites--the shortest at 17:41--that attempt to set the scene on four themes of night: "City Back Street," "A Landscape with Factory," "Interiors," and "A Woman on a Dark Street Corner." Released on Lynch's own music label, he even urges listeners on the back sleeve to "play after dark." That actually might be a good idea on a first listen, since it will give you a better idea of what Lynch is going after. Other reviewers have called this collection menacing, even depressing, but to my ears it is a slow freeform examination of all the corners that darken when the sun goes down. Lynch lays down banks of turtle-drawn synthesizers in minor keys while Zebrowski layers over the cloud tops with a gentle European expressionism that is light on melody but still brimming with a quiet passion. Supposedly improvised and recorded in one take, I give both men credit for supplying a fresh take on cinematic instrumentation. An acquired taste, no doubt, but don't be surprised if some author out there crafts an icy noir thriller while listening to these foreboding passages.

It's hard for me to discuss ambient music, but I'll say that if you're familiar with Angelo Badalamenti's or David Lynch/John Neff's more ambient work on soundtracks, you'll probably like this one. It's from the sessions that produced some of the music for Lynch's latest--"Inland Empire". If you have that soundtrack, this is agreat companion(Lynch sound package them together via ABSURDA; they'd go much better together).

It's funny, but this album has the same structural concept that Buckethead and Travis Dickerson's "Chicken Noodles" does: an album of music not-used in another project that's comprised of a few long tracks. It great when artists allow the viewer/listener to see more of their work as it was before all the editing; it allows you to get an inside understanding of what feelings were going on, and you get to explore things that otherwise would've been left on the cutting-room floor.

I just don't find this release that impressive as either a fan of David Lynch and/or a fan of experimental music.

When I first listened to The Air Is On Fire, it very easily overwhelmed me with how unique a listening experience it was--still is, after numerous listens. This album, however, just doesn't stand up to said album, despite just how similar they are in sound and composition.

Polish Night Music was performed (primarily) by David Lynch, with Marek Zebrowski on piano. The dark ambiant textures don't really dive to the depths that Air/Fire achieved, namely (in my ears) because the sparse piano work just distracts from the atmosphere, rather than to enhance it like I suppose it was meant to.

My favorite track would have to be either 'City Back Street' or 'A Woman On A Dark Street Corner'; these two tracks really translate to me the noir-esque feeling Lynch was trying to evoke. The other two tracks I find too monotonous (yes, even for ambient music) to really enjoy, though they are nice occasionally.

One thing to point out, while I was watching a Buster Keaton film, I turned off the audio (the soundtrack was cheesy re-instituted music, not the original score) and decided to turn this CD on in its stead; what happened was nearily magical; the piano notes almost always hit the timing with Buster's character falling or doing some other stunt, and the scenes changed almost on queue with the progression of the music. And in one moment, the quietest part of the second track started exactly as Buster Keaton began to stare blankily into the focus of the camera. Unfortunately, I haven't really enjoyed this album much since then.

Not what I expected, especially after reading the more favourable reviews. I was expecting some Lynch darkness and instead found myself listening to what can only be described as a sophomoric attempt at mixing Lull with Erik Satie, both of whom I enjoy (separately).

To be blunt, if I could this return this random piano plinking for a refund, I would. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy discordant tonal pieces just as much as any dark ambient fan, but IMO this falls short.

The silver lining is I also purchased at the same time, David Lynch's: The Air is on Fire (Exhibition Soundscape). Released 1 year prior to Polish Night Music, it is far richer in terms of 'dark' and 'eerie' ambience. If that is what you're seeking, buy it instead.

In short, Polish Night Music is for Lynch completists (if that's a word) only.

Edit: lol, I look back at this a year and a half later and see that I have 0 of 2 stars of being helpful. Some people (Lynch fans) get angry over the dumbest things. I guess they really showed me when they clicked that 'No' button, lol.