Over the past two years Josh Gabriel and Dave Dresden, otherwise known as Gabriel & Dresden, have made a major impact in the world of dance music due to their remixes and productions on projects like Motorcyle's "As the Rush Comes," Andain's "Beautiful Things," and Sarah McLachlan's "Fallen." They have received critical acclaim as well as crossover success.
Gabriel & Dresden lend their mixing talents to the soundtrack for the plastic surgery drama Nip/Tuck. Although much of their work in the past has been a mixture of trance and progressive, we get a very different side of Gabriel & Dresden on this compilation. On this soundtrack we see a more subdued G&D; they go for a more chill-out sound. The mixture that we get now is lounge and jazz, with only a touch of trance elements.
The soundtrack is a perfect counterpart to the Nip/Tuck television series. Since the series covers many issues that have to do with beauty, it works out quite nicely that the soundtrack goes into these issues as well. For example, the theme of insecurity is presented on the track "Cosmopolitans." Gabriel & Dresden beautifully mix various questions about beauty throughout the album, culminating with the positive messages and answers during the closing tracks.
The Nip/Tuck Soundtrack is a great blend of various styles. There are straightforward jazz tracks such as "Fever" by Daniel Ash and even a retro-sounding track, "Price of Love" by Client. "Price of Love" is one of the highlights of the album due to its thumping electro bassline and unique vocals. Another great moment on the album is "The Headphonist" by Kinky, which offers the listener a great blend of instrumentation ranging from percussion to strings. A male vocal takes us on a journey through the track that is just so different and strange, you cannot help but love it.
Although this compilation offers many different styles and interesting tracks to the listener, it is still somewhat disappointing. After becoming such a fan of Gabriel & Dresden, I was really expecting a record full of gorgeous and melodic trance tracks that would make me want to hit the dancefloor- tracks that were reminiscent of the G&D efforts that I have been going crazy for over the past two years. This record accomplishes quite the opposite. The Nip/Tuck Soundtrack is perfect for when you're winding down after hitting the clubs. As far as a dance record goes, this compilation does not cut it, however, if you're looking for an amazing chill-out record, this record goes above and beyond the call of duty.
