If you don’t know the movie already, Layer Cake (based upon JJ Connelly’s novel of the same name) is another of those nutty, brutal British gangster flicks glamorising the seedy underbelly of our deteriorating British culture. Not directed by Guy Ritchie this time, but by Ritchie’s producer pal, Matthew Vaughn. And who better to spearhead the ultraviolence campaign than ‘Our Friends In The North’ actor, Daniel Craig – regional anti-hero for hire. So there you have it. A crime thriller, cast of thousands and more dodgy dealers than can be found at a second-hand Ford convention. The soundtrack, however, is not quite so easy to nail, split as it is between semi hi-brow electronica (courtesy of FC/Kahuna, Ilan Eshkeri & Steve McLaughlin, Craig Armstrong) fetish eighties music (The Cult, Duran Duran, XTC) and the thoroughly incongruous (Joe Cocker). It’s a misshapen album for misshapen demands and a ‘soundtrack’ only in the loosest sense of the word, in that it scarcely befits any of the scenes in the film. A better phrase for it might be ‘Music That Plays Over The Top Of The Motion Picture’ – the relevance or even the mood of the songs being tenuous at best.
That said, it still previews some great music: the generous re-working of Kylie Minogue’s ‘Can’t Get You Out Of My Head’ in the style of New Order’s ‘Blue Monday’ plus some spooky, atmospheric nonsense from ex-4AD ‘Mortal Coil’ cult siren, Lisa Gerrard. There’s also the Soulsavers mix to Starsailor’s belly-thumping ‘Four To The Floor’ – a song that if nothing else proves that there’s always something of value to be found in any piece of shit. Welcome to the Layer Cake. Nutty on the outside. Nutty on the inside.