Various Artists – Star Wars Headspace (Hollywood, 2016)
Star Wars is impossible to avoid; even if you’ve been living under a rock these past few months, that rock has undoubtedly been rebranded with a nice Star Wars sticker by now. Headspace, the latest reminder by Disney, is an utterly baffling and thoroughly ill-conceived compilation straight from Hell. Assembling respected electronic artists like Flying Lotus, Bonobo and Rustie and handing them the keys to the Star Wars sound effects library, producer Rick Rubin and his lackeys phone in 15 tracks, many of which are genuinely unlistenable. There’s little to no effort made to blend the samples with their musical counterparts, rendering the whole thing all but pointless. Claude VonStroke’s “R2 Knows,” however, is already a top contender for worst song of 2016. Don’t let the names attached fool you; Star Wars Headspace is a futile exercise in brand synergy.
Trial Track: Röyksopp – “Bounty Hunters”
2/10
