White Bird in a Blizzard: Songs from the Film, features some of the most loved new wave hits of the 1980s/90s from bands including New Order, Depeche Mode, Talk Talk, Tears for Fears, Pet Shop Boys and Jesus and Mary Chain. Based on the book of the same name by Laura Kasischke, the plot revolves around Kat Connors, who is 17 years old when her perfect homemaker mother, Eve, disappears - just as Kat is discovering and relishing her newfound sexuality. Having lived for so long in a stifled, emotionally repressed household, she barely registers her mother's absence and certainly doesn't blame her doormat of a father, Brock, for the loss. In fact, it's almost a relief. But as time passes, Kat begins to come to grips with how deeply Eve's disappearance has affected her. Returning home on a break from college, she finds herself confronted with the truth about her mother's departure, and her own denial about the events surrounding it...

This album is of interest for several reasons. The first is that it contains some of the best new wave sounds of the '80s/'90s. Growing up in this era, I can't think of any better choices, than those collected here, to represent the time period. It side steps the obvious choices and goes for songs that haven't already been mined to death for their nostalgic values in other movies.

If this wasn't enough, the producers treat us to long forgotten 12" versions of the majority of the tracks. I'm assuming that they're original 12" recordings and not newly remixed.

The album contains 13 tracks (1 hr, 13 min, 57 sec) and for those of us of a certain age this is a wonderful trip down memory lane.

01 - 'Sea, Swallow Me' - Cocteau Twins and Harold Budd
02 - 'Heartbreak Beat' - The Psychedelic Furs
03 - 'Temptation' - New Order
04 - 'Behind The Wheel' - Depeche Mode
05 - 'Living In Another World' - Talk Talk
06 - 'Everybody Wants To Rule The World' - Tears For Fears
07 - 'Bring On The Dancing Horses' - Echo and The Bunnyman
08 - 'A Private Future' - Love and Rockets
09 - 'These Early Days' - Everything But The Girl
10 - 'It’s a Mugs Game' - Soft Cell
11 - 'Being Boring' - Pet Shop Boys
12 - 'Darklands' - Jesus and Mary Chain
13 - 'Gone Forever' - Performed by Ulrich Schnauss

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Darren Rea