In a climactic scene from Sofia Coppola’s new film Lost In Translation, Bill Murray sings karaoke to Roxy Music’s “More Than This.” The audience collectively whispers “what is that song, I like that song?” and they laugh because Bill Murray is singing it. This is the reaction any filmmaker would die for, and the soundtrack to the movie is a collection of music any early ’90s indie rock fan would die for. Sofia Coppola and producer Brian Reitzell know good music, as should anyone who makes a movie with a karaoke scene (also sung are Elvis Costello’s wonderful “(What’s so Funny ’bout) Peace, Love and Understanding” and The Pretenders’ “Brass In Pocket”). They know that the soundtrack has to be at least as good as the movie, which in this case is no mean feat.

The buzz, at least for those of us old enough to be hip in 1991, is that Kevin Shields from the ever-lauded band My Bloody Valentine is making his comeback. On Lost In Translation we hear the first four songs released by Shields since My Bloody Valentine’s 1991 masterpiece Loveless. It’s hard to say whether or not he lives up to the legend, but accompanied by the other songs on the album, it all makes for a pretty lovely, coherent mixture.

The soundtrack opens with a short intro and then Shields’ “City Girl,” which is a very pretty and simple song that sets the tone perfectly for the record. As its title suggests, the movie is about being lost, not only in a strange and foreign city but also in life. This album could not create that feeling better, and “City Girl” supplements Coppola’s breathtaking images of Tokyo at night perfectly. And all Shields has to say is “City girl, you’re beautiful, I love you.” Yeah, he’s back.

Following is a series of instrumentals. The first is a futuristic, delicate track by young French sensation Sebastien Tellier, followed by a short, dreamlike track by drum ’n bass act Squarepusher. These two (while Tellier proves the more effective) do what is the most important thing in a soundtrack: play music that you will associate with the movie. Unless you have amazingly obscure tastes, you will not have heard these musicians before (or most of the acts on this album). This is a good thing, because the music becomes inseparable from the futuristic, daunting beauty and fragile emotion of the film.

Death In Vegas wins the instrumental award with “Girls,” a track so hypnotic and dazzling that you will feel as though you’ve been thrust into a new world. It features ethereal female voices sighing gently over rich instrumentation that starts out slow and speeds up to a breathless end. Followed by Kevin Shields’ instrumental “Goodbye,” this section of the album will leave you in a state of dazed bliss, much like the movie itself.

There are, however, upbeat moments on Lost In Translation. The absolute highlight of the album comes with Phoenix’s “Too Young.” Phoenix is an enigma in that they are a French band that only sings in English, and are influenced heavily by the British invasion artists. This is a perfect example of the cross-cultural appeal of Sofia Coppola’s film and its soundtrack. On this album we are exposed to music, new and old, from the United States, France, Japan and Britain.

“Too Young” is a hell of a song, the kind that can propel forward the images in the film it accompanies, and the kind that can make you stop listening to anything else. It is peppy and happy and mirrors the climax of the film: the party/karaoke scene that, for a moment, breaks through the dazed and silent spell Coppola has cast over us.

After “Too Young” comes another gem, a song recorded in 1971 by the highly influential Japanese pop group Happy End. “Kaze Wo Atsumete” has the instantly recognizable class attributed to all classic songs from the period of late ’60s-early ’70s. You may think you’ve heard it somewhere before until you realize that the words are in Japanese. This juxtaposition of the familiar and the unfamiliar is what makes it perfect for the film. “Kaze Wo Atsumete” is Bill Murray in Japan: part of it is classic in a 1970s kind of way, and part is mysterious in a 2020 way.

The soundtrack includes two more pretty instrumentals before throwing in “Sometimes” by My Bloody Valentine. The song is somber and catchy, the way it should be, and it serves to show the listener that Kevin Shields really hasn’t changed too much. “Sometimes” sounds like Smashing Pumpkins could if Billy Corgan ever mellowed out. Though you may be swimming in a sea of mellow by the time Lost In Translation is over, the film makes it so this must be the case. Any other peppy songs on here would turn it into something off-kilter. Which is why the group Air, who wrote the soundtrack for Coppola’s first film, The Virgin Suicides, is up next with “Alone in Kyoto,” showcasing its usual dreamy, pulsing style. Two more instrumentals, including a Kevin Shields-penned techno number with beats like soda pop, follow and set the stage for the final track on the album as well as in the film, The Jesus & Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey.”

This song is the perfect end-of-movie song that musically conscious filmmakers are always seeking. It has open, airy guitars and vocals, similar to “City Girl” and “Sometimes” only better. It is short and sweet, but lasts long enough for the Breakfast at Tiffany’s-style final scene in the film with Bob in the cab, Charlotte in the street and the final meeting between the two. The fade-to-black at the end fills you with emotion and happiness; which is what a good film and a good song should do. The Lost In Translation soundtrack is a cohesive treat of an album that rises, comes back down, and then breaks apart at the end.

Hidden at the end of the album is a clip of Murray’s karaoke version of “More Than This.” What better example can there be of great music influencing great film? With Lost In Translation, Coppola has made a musician’s film, and Kevin Shields isn’t the only one who’s grateful.