Kirby’s latest album, Luckiest Man in America, is, in reality, the soundtrack for a recent film of the same name, directed by Samir Olivieros. It’s interesting to witness Kirby’s playful, tropical style colliding with a movie that leans so heavily into vintage aesthetics, its colour palette evoking the golden era of CRT television, with 80s costumes, big hair, and of course, the central theme: American TV game shows of that same decade.

Kirby’s usual musical style tends toward maximalism. Busy in the best way, full of short, repeated subjects stitched together with slight, clever variations. There’s a constant presence of keyboards and synthesizers, all tightly designed, rarely sprawling, only swelling into full size when a solo steps out to take centre stage. Add in layers of Latin and tropical percussion and those endlessly catchy, looping bass phrases and what you get is a groove that’s grunting but almost always silly, playful, never pretentious. Kirby’s music flirts with complexity but refuses sobriety. It’s music with the spirit of a comedian.

Translating all of that into a film soundtrack means the results are, by necessity, more structured, more planned, more... polite, even. The spaces between instruments are suddenly more pronounced. The mix breathes more. It’s less busy, easier to follow, and thematically, even more kitsch than Kirby’s usual output. The cartoonish energy gets scaled back just enough to sit behind dialogue or a scene, but it never loses its charm.

This isn’t Kirby’s first foray into film music, but this one in particular works beautifully as a stand-alone listen. It’s fun. Light. A friend of mine has a particular term for this kind of listening experience: “furniture music.” And yes, that’s exactly what it is. Music that fills the space, reshapes it, brightens it. Play it at home and watch the room change mood.

If you’re looking for a wide array of emotional colours filtered through a childish, irreverent lens, light in tone, cute, silly, then give this album a spin. Also: fantastic as background music for whatever space you happen to occupy.

Tracklist:

1. The Luckiest Man 01:01
2. Sewing a Button 03:19
3. Board of Desire 02:51
4. Lot Tour 03:17
5. Meeting Peter 02:00
6. Michael Winning 03:40
7. Michael Losing 02:29
8. Detective Chuck 03:05
9. Chuck Sad 01:45
10. Michael Giving Up 01:25
11. Bill’s Bargain 02:33
12. Patricia’s Theme 02:07
13. Patricia’s Theme Reprise 02:21
14. The Whammy 05:30

Author: Martín Cacho

Martín is a video game composer, producer and writer from Sonora, México.