Varèse Sarabande release the Loveless Original Motion Picture Soundtrack which features the original score composed by Evgueni and Sacha Galperine. The movie follows Zhenya and Boris, who are going through a vicious divorce marked by resentment, frustration and recriminations. Already embarking on new lives, each with a new partner, they are impatient to start again, to turn the page – even if it means threatening to abandon their 12-year-old son Alyosha. Until, after witnessing one of their fights, Alyosha disappears...

I didn't enjoy this score at all. It seemed disjointed and rather directionless... and then I read the press notes, which revealed that the composers didn't watch the movie or have access to a script. Instead the director wanted them to compose the music from his description of the film.

The composers acknowledge their obvious concerns in the album's notes: "... the chances of missing the target working without the picture were big. But as blind people are known for developing their other senses, we had to go deeper into our imaginations and emotions, trying to connect with what is happening in the heads of the parents when their child disappears and their world is reduced to only one thought: find him."

Given this free reign to deliver pretty much whatever they wanted, creatively, I was surprised to discover that they decided to mainly stick with atmospheric music cues. There was a chance here to deliver a score that would also work as a beautiful album in its own right. Sadly we get pretty much monotonous music cues that can easily be sliced and slotted into the film where required.

'The Song' is an interesting, haunting theme. And I wish the score had been full of more moments like this. If bland, music that goes nowhere is your thing, then you'll be able to fill your boots. Everyone else will probably be surprised at how soulless it all sounds.

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Darren Rea