If you were on a college campus or were hip to what’s cool in the mid-nineties, you knew about Tortoise. The Chicago-based indie band fused krautrock, jazz, electronica and god knows what else into a unique instrumental stew that inspired legions of imitators as well as a devoted following that continues to this day. To be honest, we haven’t really kept up with the band since Standards but their self-titled debut and its followup Millions Now Living Will Never Die are staples for any record collection. The band have continued to evolve over the years adding new shades and dimensions to their sound, and now, they’ve added a film score to their list of accomplishments.
The dudes over at Pitchfork reveal that the band has tuned up “Lovely Molly,” the latest from helmer Eduardo Sánchez, best known as the co-director of “The Blair Witch Project” oh those many moons ago. “Tortoise’s music is able to morph and change in a way that really accentuates the twists and turns in the ‘Lovely Molly’ story,” the film’s producer, Gregg Hale said in a statement. “We had tried to work together in 1999 (on Fox’s sort-lived ‘Freakylinks’ TV series) and it didn’t pan out, so I was thrilled to have another chance to collaborate with them.”
No word yet on if their work on the film will get a release from their longtime home at Thrill Jockey, but we’re definitely curious to see what they’ve cooked up. Tortoise’s music is certainly suited for widescreen use, though the horror genre does add an interesting twist to their usual sonic palette that already finds the band constantly striking out in new directions. As for the film itself? Well, Sánchez’s post-‘Blair’ track record speaks for itself, so we’re not holding our breath, but audiences certainly hope he will deliver the scares when it screens at midnight on September 14th at TIFF. The logline, some tunes from Tortoise and images from the film below.
A young newlywed woman is thrust into a supernatural nightmare of the unknown when she moves into her deceased father’s house.
