There appears to be a growing influx of musicians in experimental circles who would gladly turn their attention away from music for a while and solely compose for film. Most obvious of these is Silver Ray guitarist Cam Butler, whose fantastic See (Symphony No.1) could have won an Oscar if it had an accompanying film. While we’re on the subject of the Academy Awards, it seems an act of blatant disrespect that the academy could ignore Johnny Greenwood’s magnificent score for There Will Be Blood. Clint Mansell’s The Fountain has also been denied by the Academy, much to my chagrin. Even ambient noise fiend Machinefabriek recently contributed Music for Intermittent Movements: Soundtracks for Films by John Price. Yes, there sees to be a distinctive pull to pair the visual with the auditory, as Benn Jordan has released Soundtrack to a Vacant Life, a demanding album that has little to do with breakcore, IDM, dubstep, microhouse, or any current style of electronic music. Thank god, as that makes this album extremely refreshing. The Flashbulb moniker seems to suggest a motif entirely different from most other modern strains of electronica, and it is Benn Jordan’s primary releases that keep the rest of the electronic world in check. Here, Jordan strays from his sheer mastery of the digital realm and exhibits his knack at crafting a thematically dense piece of work with amazing transformative power.

Soundtrack to a Vacant Life shows his entire production prowess in full play. While Jordan’s other pseudonyms rely on gimmicks, his releases as The Flashbulb have always relied on maturity and command, and his latest incorporates more organic instrumentation than ever before. “The First Rain and You” incorporates no electronic means whatsoever, relying on guitar, gentle string swells, and delicate piano. Yet this track gives way to “Warm Hands in Cold Fog,” which exhibits the bizarre dichotomy of Soundtrack to a Vacant Life, juxtaposing human elements with mechanical breaks. This album is easily the most effective release of the year in the vein of “digital minimalism,” but make no mistake, the digital aspect is still at the forefront. Some tracks blend physical instrumentation with sampled beats in such a perfect fashion that it reminds one of Amon Tobin’s magnum opus, Bricolage.

Benn Jordan truly has a greater sense of musicality and what makes a great album than almost any other modern musician. He seamlessly blends brilliant acoustic guitar phrases with atypical drum programming and synth lines. This represents such a strange array of focus, within which Benn Jordan has narrowed his vision down to producing an album that transcends genre. Soundtrack to a Vacant Life could be considered a blending of ambient, post-rock, and IDM, but Jordan achieves this effect so well  that his accomplishment merits a new genre name. However, this style is so singular and unique that it cannot be replicated, and The Flashbulb would be the only artist releasing in that new genre, making genre designations even more obsolete in regard to Jordan’s work, and even cheapening his triumph. Soundtrack to a Vacant Life is 100% unique and very special.

At no point does a single track exceed four minutes. Jordan does not indulge in improvised experimentation or roaming unstructured passages; Soundtrack to a Vacant Life is meticulous. Every detail is perfected and every twist and turn is controlled. Benn Jordan has crafted this album with care and it is fully capable of grabbing the listener by the throat. The length, however, can be challenging, as this is not a simple endeavor, and it requires attention all throughout. I cannot help but wonder how a film would fare with this as a soundtrack. I can only imagine an adaptation of Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises, as both are brilliant works of considerable length that explore themes of maturity and purpose. Such an exotic yet tragically personal novel seems to fit this album quite well. In particular, Soundtrack to a Vacant Life explores all the enchanting aspects of life with gusto matched by Hemingway, and the music therein serves to demonstrate the transformative power of the bildungsroman.

This release is a huge step forward for The Flashbulb. It achieves everything an album of its ilk can hope to achieve, and allows Benn Jordan to transcend the nominal designation of producer, DJ, or musician, and be considered an artist and composer. American classics like Citizen Kane and Gone with the Wind are not held in such high esteem because they broke the mold with radical structure and experimentation. No, they become classics because they are timeless. They are stories that define the very essence of character. The nature of our lives are shaped by the effect such stories have on us. Life is reflected in the best of art. Soundtrack to a Vacant Life explores all the properties of life in an epic pairing of digital with acoustic, bringing together the passion of the heart with the intellect of the mind. Benn Jordan has shown that electronic music is more than a gimmick: it is an art form that can be perfected. And while Soundtrack to a Vacant Life is not perfect, it is pretty damn close.

-Jack Britton