A review by JAMES SOUTHALL

A 2003 movie (though seemingly not released until 2005) directed by Lawrence Foldes, Finding Home sees a young career woman inherit a property in Maine from her late grandmother, and in the process of selling it off, going through all the old possessions re-evaluating her life.  I must admit, I've never seen it; I pinched the plot outline from the IMDB.  Users comments at the same site are wildly varied; one person says "as close to perfection as a movie can get", while another says "clichéd, contrived, silly" - who to believe!?  I'd never heard of the film until the soundtrack was released; similarly, I'd never even heard of the composer, Joseph Conlan.  In a fit of hyperbole, he is described in the liner notes as "one of today's most prolific and popular film composers", and they go on to name ten of his biggest projects, literally none of which I have even head of.

Maybe, though, I should start paying a bit more attention.  His music for Finding Home is frequently attractive.  The music is mainly orchestral (though no orchestra or conductor is credited) and these passages are very attractive.  There is nothing truly distinctive, but nor need there be, with Conlan crafting some lovely melodies.  The score's main theme is heard in several pleasant presentations, with "One Telephone Call" being a particular highlight.  However, with the film seemingly striving to offer up its fair share of tragedy, the scores does not remain so pleasant throughout, with several more downbeat passages which don't make such rewarding listening.  In some ways, the most impressive sections are perhaps when Conlan adds some percussion on top of the orchestra, mercifully avoiding drum loops and opting for some weird live instruments; this comes to the fore in "Awkward Arrivals" and "Something About Dave", which sound almost like they might belong in a Thomas Newman score, but are certainly entirely Conlan's creations.

When Conlan adds a solo female voice to his music, it is also highly attractive; the one thing that doesn't really work on the album is ironically the one thing he draws attention to in his liner notes, which are what he describes as "experimental soundscapes" created by manipulating digital recordings of live performance, sending things backwards, adding effects, etc.  They sound like they would probably work well in the film, but they detract from the fine orchestral segments of the disc.  At 79 minutes it's something of a struggle to get all the way through, but this shouldn't take anything away from the core of excellent material in the score, and hopefully we'll be hearing more from Conlan in the future.

Tracks

1. Finding Home (2:37)
2. The News (1:47)
3. One Telephone Call (3:35)
4. Like It Was Yesterday (1:42)
5. My Old Room (1:28)
6. Shadows (:30)
7. Lemon Drops (2:13)
8. Finding Middle C (1:20)
9. Tea at the Plaza (:54)
10. I Need a Friend (1:16)
11. Dear Diary (1:56)
12. Candace Comes to Help (3:17)
13. Return to Sender (2:32)
14. Esther and Sean (4:30)
15. Dave's Place (2:07)
16. The Negotiation (2:12)
17. Awkward Arrivals (1:58)
18. Something About Dave (1:48)
19. Dave and his Knife (1:52)
20. N, A, S and G (1:34)
21. The Key / Not Your Father (6:29)
22. AP and DL / Nick Goes South (6:51)
23. Farewell to Nick (2:02)
24. The Dotted Line (1:27)
25. Looking Back (1:27)
26. Half Way (2:29)
27. Withdraw the Offer (6:50)
28. End Credits (4:45)