Disasterpeace's Masterpiece

Upon the first listen, you'll know that this is written and produced by a genuis. The genuis in question here is New York-based composer Richard Vreeland, also known as Disasterpeace, who has been making music for video games until this point. Honestly, this is a record so immaculate and masterful in its establishment of spine-chilling soundscapes that you don't even have to watch the film to be able to enjoy it. That said, it wraps around the movie so well and this level of perfection can only remind me of the soundtrack for Mysterious Skin by Robin Gutherie and Harold Budd and Angelo Balamenti's Twin Peaks . Essentially, It Follows is a quirky 'propogandist' film that campaigns against sexual promiscuity among teenagers, a problem so widespread that it can no longer be seen as a problem. By sleeping around, people get a horrifying curse that they can see a vengeful shape-shifting ghost that's invisible to everyone else, and eventually they get killed. The hair-raising sense of always being watched and followed by something beyond initial recognisation is well captured by Vreeland's distorted, monstrous and pulsating tunes. Despite their rather disappointing lengths, these tunes are by no means repetitive, monotomous and corny with spiky strings and perhaps some occasional human shrieks;Instead, they range from speedy synthy horrors - 'Heels', melancolic tunes that are vaguely reminiscent of Twin Peaks like 'Title' and 'Greg' and dark ambient gems like 'Doppel'.

For slightly masochistic listeners like me who enjoy some adrenaline-pumping kicks for music, this is a perfect record to get fully immersed in. Listening to it either on a night stroll around the empty neighbourhood or in a darkened bedroom, it will take you to an imaginative place that seems more vivid than anything, a place where fear and tension are abundant, a place where you might possibly fall prey to your desires and anxieties taking the form of someone you know.