CQ

The French band Mellow seems the proper fit for a movie like CQ, which is set in Paris in 1969 and concerns a young, American director, inspired by the New Wave, who is hired to finish a sci-fi, fantasy movie. All the previous directors have fallen for the lead actress, as does he. Mellow play retro-pop music similar to Air or the Cardigans, though perhaps their take on it is even mellower than both those decidedly mellow acts. For CQ's soundtrack, Mellow have come up with a bunch of instrumentals and several vocal numbers that are laid-back to say the least. A few of the tunes display some of the fun of '60s French pop music, but most of them are closer to wallpaper. It's pleasant music, but very soundtrack-oriented. Some of it is dullsville. One exception is a song included that's not by Mellow, Claude Francois' "Ce Soir Je Vais Boire," an extremely fun tune which is more in keeping with the madcap action of much of the film than a lot of the light music that fills this soundtrack.