Steve Moore — The Mind's Eye (OST)
What I've read to be an overacted retreading of Scanners, The Mind's Eye follows two psychokinetic lovers fleeing the mad doctor trying to siphon their powers for his personal gain. Being a fan of Cronenberg's Scanners, this film really doesn't seem like something I need to spend the time viewing. Hearing that Steve Moore did the score, though, definitely gives it points. Thankfully, Relapse released the OST on its own so that those of us that only want to experience the music can do so without painfully hammy overacting marring the sound. This score feels like a modern take on late 70's/early 80's scores by the likes of Carpenter, Goblin, Vangelis, Moroder, and Tangerine Dream. Dusky and touching on dark, the elements on display are very evocative and manage to successfully convey a tale of their own just based on music alone. Whether or not I came up with the same story as The Mind's Eye doesn't matter, as long as Steve's score can stand on its own. The handful of longer tracks on the soundtrack are structured well enough to be viable options for album tracks as well and add a bit more bite to Steve's already strong argument.
Taking a film score on its own is often a tough challenge. Music and imagery link very well and with one half of a whole missing, how does the other convey the full message? Thankfully, Steve Moore's synth work captures a strong, sci-fi vibe and infuses it with an energy of its own. Having been a genre fan for many years, his cues evoke familiar cinematic elements, and create one heck of a rousing "film" on their own.