Various: Scott Pilgrim vs. The World OST (Abkco)

By Ben Liew  •  13 Oct 2010 in Review

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Like so many coming-of-age teen flicks before this (Juno, Empire Records, Dazed & Confused), the soundtrack to Scott Pilgrim is probably just as important to film as the geeky lead character played by Michael Cera. And if Juno cast anti folk into the mainstream then this OST will ignite a lo-fi garage revival.

Oddball alt rockstar Beck helms a healthy dose of songs here either as himself or the fictional protagonist’s band Sex Bob-omb. Joining him are Broken Social Scene (as rival band Crash and the Boys) who do a couple of hilarious under 1-min tracks (‘I’m So Sad, So Very, Very Sad’ and ‘We Hate You Please Die’) and end up sounding a lot like preteens covering Black Flag.

More 21st Century indie slackers make an appearance on the soundtrack including Black Lips, Blood Red Shoes, Metric and Beachwood Sparks, who cover Sade’s ‘By Your Side’ with dreamy Mazzy Star glitter. The addition of yesteryear garage nuggets ‘I Heard Ramona Sing’ (Pixies frontman Frank Black’s tribute to the movie’s leading lady), ‘Under My Thumb’ (Rolling Stones), ‘Teenage Dream’ (T-Rex) and ‘Sleazy Bed Track’ (The Bluetones) complete the overall feel and wonder of being a teenage in love and in an amateur band, which are both pretty confusing and messy at the same time.

LISTEN TO: ‘Scott Pilgrim’ by Plumtree
IF YOU LIKE THIS YOU’LL LOVE: Tripping Daisy, Flaming Lips, The Moldy Peaches
RATING: 3 1/2