K-Pax

1	Grand Central 4:38
2	Good Morning Bess 2:47
3	Taxi Ride 3:50
4	Constellation Lyra 2:41
5	Bluebird 3:52
6	4th of July 4:14
7	Prot Missing 2:30
8	Sarah 3:03
9	New Mexico 6:24
10	Powell's Return 1:11
11	July 27th 4:40
12	Coda 3:20

Barnes & Noble

Prot, the character Kevin Spacey portrays in the sci-fi film K-Pax, might be an extraterrestrial visitor, or he might merely be a psychotic human. Edward Shearmur's sophisticated score manages to convey this duality in musical terms by alternating and combining ethereal elements with more earthbound ones. Hazy strings often hover in the distance while electronic bleeps fade in and out of perception like music from another sphere. But from time to time, Shearmur's music is grounded by sounds representing the here and now, such as the beat that drives "Taxi Ride" forward and the insistent rhythmic patterns that crop up on several tracks, ticking off time like a mechanistic clockwork. With shades of the music from another Spacey vehicle -- Thomas Newman's score for American Beauty -- the sound here is often colored with marimba and other mallet percussion. Throughout the score, other musical elements bridge the gap between alien mystery and earthly hubbub, such as the melodic piano, wordless female voice, and solo violin and guitar, all of which provide a recurring touch of humanity and emotion. For the most part, K-Pax is made up of contemplative and unobtrusive music, although one track, "July 27th," builds up a good deal of dramatic tension. The piano solo on the final track, "Coda," however, offers a quietly satisfying and beautifully peaceful resolution. Scott Paulin

All Music Guide

Edward Shearmur's score for K-Pax appropriately combines orchestral pieces with electronic music, so to match the fanciful tone of a film about a mental patient (played by Kevin Spacey) who claims to be from another planet and his psychiatrist (Jeff Bridges). But a solo piano-like sound, playing slow, introspective single-note melodies, is the primary musical element, the piano backed by haunting synthesized sounds on a cue such as "Good Morning Bess." The result is a soundtrack that works as an ambient new age album much of the time, as well as providing a souvenir to the film. William Ruhlmann