**** Various Artists

LOST HIGHWAY

(Nothing/Interscope)

On the soundtrack to David Lynch's latest, producer Trent Reznor collects a myriad of artists to provide the requisite sinister undertones. David Bowie's contribution, "I'm Deranged" (not on Bowie's new Earthling), is a chilling pop experiment with a driving dance-floor drum beat that incorporates more than a hint of jungle. Beautifully dark string washes, finely layered electric guitar, and acoustic piano fill out the tune's orchestral arrangement while Bowie delivers a creepy half-time melody. Nine Inch Nails' "The Perfect Drug" also incorporates jungle's frantic drumming, though the song seems more like a collage of noisy, thrusting pieces than a well-developed whole.

In addition to the NIN tune, Trent Reznor produces several industrial soundscapes; they're his efforts at scoring bits of the film, which, unfortunately, pale beside veteran Lynch associate Angelo Badalamenti's work. Badalamenti's "Fred & Renee Make Love" is truly the most terrifying sex theme ever written. Samples of desperately passionate voices moaning, "I want you" are pasted over upsetting string melodies and low thunder rumbles, creating an atmosphere that seems both melancholy and sinful.

-- Jonathan Follett

(See page 10 for our review of the film Lost Highway.)