Craig Armstrong: As If To Nothing

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

(Herald rating: * * * * )

Hip soundtrack producer/ arranger Armstrong's second non-movie solo album has quite a supporting cast of its own. There's Bono, former Lemonhead Evan Dando, British soul singer David McAlmont, Scottish guitar-noisemeisters Mogwai, and drum'n'bass don Photek through the 15 tracks.

But while the guest vocalists make their mark (Dando on the Jimmy Webb-ish ballad Wake up in New York, McAlmont sounding androgynously unearthly on the sweeping Bond theme-like Snow and the U2 vocalist on a melancholy version of his own Stay) the dominant sound is Armstrong's deft blend of grand glacial strings, arpeggiating pianos and subtly throbbing electronics. All of which suggest its own very big picture.

Yes it can border on the overblown (after all, Armstrong's last soundtrack was Baz Luhrman's Moulin Rouge) but while it's lush, it is mostly engrossing in its own highly refined semi-orchestral way. All this and a King Crimson tribute too - Starless II - samples the prog-rockers and helps makes for a quietly majestic highlight in an album full of them.

Label: Virgin