Wish I Was Here (Music From the Motion Picture)

First off, let me say that all Soundtrack Reviews will be compared to ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’ OST, as I feel that, as far as soundtracks go, it was perfect. 

When I listen to a soundtrack I want to be able to picture the characters in the movie doing what they do. I want to be able to do this, with only the music of the soundtrack and plot summary of the movie. For example, read the plot summary for ‘The Secret Life of Walter Mitty’, and then listen to any one of the first three songs on the Walter Mitty OST. If you are anything like me, you will have pictured a panoramic view of rolling green hills, with a blue, but not bright blue sky. In those hills will be a long winding road, this road will contain no demons. A helicopter will fly past the shot and slowly fly towards the horizon, forcing you to discover the sheer size and beauty of the landscape presented before you. 

"Long time ago me and my brother Kyle here, we was hitchhiking' down a long and lonesome road. 

All of a sudden, there shined a shiny demon... in the middle... of the road."

So first, a bit about the movie, ‘Wish I Was Here’. Directed by Zach Braff (Scrubs), Wish I Was Here is a Comedy Drama about Aidan Bloom (Braff), a 35-year-old actor, father, and husband, who is still struggling to find his identity. He goes on to start home schooling his two children, Grace (Joey King) and Tucker (Pierce Gagnon), when his father Saul (Mandy Patinkin) can no longer afford to pay for Grace and Tucker’s private school education. Through teaching his kids about life his way, Aidan slowly discovers some of the parts of himself he couldn’t find. 

‘Wish I Was Here’ also stars Kate Hudson (‘Glee’) as Aidans wife, Sarah. Jim Parsons (‘The Big Bang Theory’) as Paul, Ashley Greene (‘Twilight’) as Janine, Josh Gad (‘Jobs’) as Aidans brother Noah, and also James Avery (‘The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air’) in his final film role before his death.

R.I.P. James Avery

Track 1

“So Now What” by The Shins

Now I come into this album knowing only about Bon Iver, so I will appreciate an individual song based on the song itself, not who it is by.
The combination of constant snare, strumming of the one chord and high pitched vocals works well here, as it introduces what is sure to be a positive movie, and soundtrack (honestly, what else would we expect from Zach Braff). Listening to this song, makes me think “montage” almost straight away, an introduction of Aidans children and family is something that would suit this song well.

Track 2

“Broke Window” by Gary Jules

ACOUSTIC GUITAR IS THE BEST, yes, I said it. Any song that begins this way will force make me listen, what follows though will help me to determine my stance on the song itself. Gary’s voice isn't one of my favourites but it suits the almost slow country music kind of vibe the song gives off. In my eyes picking is more useful in creating a meaningful song than chords are (with some exemptions). I’d love to say I enjoyed this song, but the introduction of electric guitar mixed with Gary’s vocals just doesn’t do it for me.

Track 3

“The Mute” by Radical Face

This is the kind of song I can get into. Acoustic guitar, soft melodic harmonising, and vocals that sound like they come straight from the south of the USA. After tracks 2 and 3, I’m starting to rethink my stance on “positive movie”, as these tracks seem to mellow the soundtrack out, and sound as though they could company some less happy times in the movie.

Track 4

“Cherry Wine (Live)” by Hozier

A slow song, the songs lyrics start as if they are going to throw the song into a fire bed of hatred and hurtful words on a specific individual. But the chorus alone will convince anyone that this is a sensual love song that uses the slow guitar to great effect, purely increasing the emotion that the lyrics evoke. “The way she tells me I'm hers and she is mine; Open hand or closed fist would be fine; The blood is rare and sweet as cherry wine”, now I’ve never had said “cherry wine” but by the sounds of this song, it’s gosh darn sweet.

Track 5

“Holocene” by Bon Iver

After hearing the first ten seconds of this song, I think subconsciously I was waiting for it the whole time. Justin Vernon’s voice will rival that of anyone that you can compare him to and will most likely beat them all. The 1 minute and 20 seconds before the deeper sounds of the guitar kick in, are building the anticipation for a “drop” that rivals any dance song. In my opinion, this song is Bon Iver’s 3rd best song (behind Skinny Love and Re: Stacks), and is a highlight of this alternative and acoustic dominated soundtrack. I’m scared to ride the emotional roller coaster the movie that this soundtrack accompanies will take me on when I see it.

Track 6

“The Shining” by Badly Drawn Boy

Only the second song on the album so far to not begin with acoustic guitar. But after getting past the emotional intro you will get to the acoustic guitar (1:17 in fact), the song takes a turn and starts to become somewhat upbeat, in only a way that a song with acoustic picking can. The monotonous vocals don’t really do much for me, if it weren't for the ambient sounds behind the guitar I would say that this song isn’t really worth listening to. Unfortunately, no matter how fantastic the music gets in this song, the vocals completely ruin it for me.

Track 7

“Mexico” by Jump Little Children

I’ll be honest, at the beginning of this song I thought my CD player was skipping. But after the glitching noises, I was struck by a combination of chords that was only topped by the vocals. I was surprised by this song as it has almost a Switchfoot - Dare You To Move vibe, with a build up, and then a chorus that builds in intensity. Not sure why Switchfoot came up, just deal with it.
Any song about Mexico is going to make me happy, I mean, it’s Mexico. But after removing my poncho and sombrero, I began to appreciate the song and where I thought it would be placed in the movie. Surely, this song accompanies another montage of heart-wrenching happiness, if that exists. On one hand this song provides the movie with a path to go upbeat and reward a character with the final goal. But on the other, it gives the director the chance to take the movie into a more sombre light and give a character a negative path in the overall story.

Such emotions, much smart, very both

Track 8

“Wish I Was Here” by Cat Power & Coldplay

This song is probably the song that I will re-listen to the least. I’m not the biggest of piano fans. Now I have no doubts that Cat’s voice is wonderful, which it is, but unfortunately, coupled with the piano, it doesn’t work for me at all. In saying that, I am a big fan of Chris Martin playing piano, when he is also the one singing. This song could’ve been so much better, but it just falls a bit short. My mother would enjoy this kind of song, which is also a negative.

Track 9

“Wait It Out” by Allie Moss

The slow build up, the increase in speed and the big sing-along chorus, this seems to be a very clear pattern in song choices for this album. Allie Moss sounds like a regular at a Hawaiian bar. What lets this song down for me, is where it could’ve gone, I understand that it is meant to be a slow song, as slow songs are, obviously. I just think for this song, with what sounds like a ukelele and also a fantastic vocalist, it could have done so much more to really draw me in, and surprise me.

Track 10

“The Obvious Child” by Paul Simon

Is this the soundtrack for an alternative Comedy Drama, or for an 80’s movie? With my limited knowledge on Paul Simon, I feel this is a trademark kind of song for him. It’s a fantastic change-up to what has come before, really the setup of the previous 9 songs were quite similar. An upbeat song that hits you right in the brain with the first drum roll sequence. This is the kind of song I assumed would be front and centre in this kind of movie. The drum solo at the end is bloody brilliant, and just caps off what is nearly the best song on the soundtrack.

Track 11

“Breathe In (Feat. Wafia)” by Japanese Wallpaper

This follows the pattern of most of this album, slow start with a big build up. But like they say, why fix what isn’t broken, which makes perfect sense here. This formula is what makes me love music, I love the big build up, to the moment that everything inside of me is just released in a mash of dance, loud noise and pure joy. The electronic parts of this song seem very The Kite String Tangle-esque, soothing vocals, and a fun electronic beat. It just works.

Track 12

“Heavenly Father” by Bon Iver

The song that everyone had been waiting for. When Justin Vernon announced he was taking a break from Bon Iver to work on his music with Volcano Choir, people were shot down, it was figuratively a shot to the heart. Thank the heavenly father that this only lasted 1 year. This song brings a new electronic side to Bon Iver that was probably the last thing I expected, it is such a welcome change though. This is the kind of song that you picture yourself driving down a road that has no end, with a sunset off in the horizon that will melt your mind. The more I hear this song, the quicker it moves up towards my favourite Bon Iver song. No wonder Zach asked Justin to write this song for him, simply amazing!

Track 13

“Raven’s Song” by Aaron Embry

From the outset, I was not at all attracted to this song. If it wasn’t directly after Bon Iver I don’t even think that it would be played at all by me. The best thing about this song for me is that it goes for 2:00 and no more.

Track 14

“Mend” by The Weepies

This is a nice song, not much more though. It seems like a song that would be played in Juno, where Michael Cera and Ellen Page are sitting together, that’s only because I imagine it being sung by Ellen Page. A Juno musical, now that would be god-awful. Michael Cera would be the last guy I would pick for a musical. Back to the song, like I said it is nice. The song has a very relaxing guitar, piano combo, that mixes well with the female vocalist and then the harmonising that occurs in the more triumphant sections of the song.

Maybe I do want Michael Cera in a musical, with lyrical genius such as this

Track 15

“No One to Let You Down” by The Head and the Heart

Now this is an acoustic song, the voice is fantastically suited to the style of music being played and the slides are just enthralling. It hits you with a faux build-up and then enters this sweet soft harmonising section, which turns into a big woosh of loud noise and lyrics, it’s great. You bop for about 5-10 seconds before calming back down, this kind of roller coaster of excitement and calmness, is what this soundtrack seems to be all about.

After hearing this soundtrack I’m excited to see the movie. Seeing Zach Braff again will make everyone reminisce about the times he provided us with great times in Scrubs. Some songs on this album really do make me think about where they would fit in this movie, which is definitely what I want in a soundtrack. When the first song you hear off it is Bon Iver’s “Heavenly Father”, than you should already guess what kind of a soundtrack this will be. 

Oh, and did I mention that Mr. Christopher Turk himself will be making an appearance, that’s right Zach Braff’s partner in crime in Scrubs, Donald Faison, will be back. It only adds to the excitement!

I give this album 3.5 stars out of 5

Wish I Was Here (Music From the Motion Picture) is Available Now

Wish I Was Here will be in cinemas on September 11th 2014