Criticulous goes Wild

Sarah Hopfinger
Loves Great Adventure

It is quite a mark of Hopfinger’s genius that she took her original inspiration from a crap Ultravox single: it is even more unnerving that she weaves the music of Midge Ure and old science fiction movies into such a determinedly personal narrative. Her spoken introduction sets out her stall. Feeling isolated and alone, she embarked on a journey through music, taking random choices from a selection offered to her by friends and colleagues, to see whether she could find hidden connections.

From this simple start, Hopfinger embraces the major themes of the age: the tension between the outsider and society - a tension where both sides accept complicit approval yet claim to abhore; the desire to travel in societies seriously yet without leaving behind damage or unnecessary change; the overwhelming impact of western music on other cultures. Hopfinger is naturally attuned to her environmental responsibilities. This is, she proudly concludes, a carbon neutral production and what starts as a dry recitation of facts about how she achieves this becomes the rousing centre-piece.

Part call to arms, part intimate recollection of one woman’s past, Loves Great Adventure is all about the importance of the apparently mundane. It even redeems Midge Ure’s silly moustache from the dustbin of fashion history.