Released in the English-speaking world as The Safe House, Lionel Baier’s La Cache is set in the period of civil unrest in France in 1968 and tells the story of a young boy hiding away in his grandparents’ apartment in Paris. While I haven’t seen it, reviews suggest it has an interesting tone bridging between serious drama and comedy and this is reflected in its fine score, composed by Diego Baldenweg with his siblings Nora and Lionel. Their music is a great throwback to jazzy film music of the late 1960s and 70s by the likes of Michel Legrand and Lalo Schifrin (along with countless Italians) – mostly played by a small jazz ensemble, it is deliciously quirky as it toes that line between serious and silly.

A really catchy main theme anchors the whole thing, presented in so many different guises as the score progresses and it never outstays its welcome. Fantastic trumpet solos with accompaniment from double bass, percussion and an array of different wind instruments form the basis of much of the score, and the Baldenwegs extract so much vivid colour from their ensemble. At times the score takes on an ethereal beauty, such as in the impressionistic “Home” and “Far Away, Yet Close” but mostly its rhythmic energy propelling everything forward. The album clocks in at a perfect 36 minutes and it’s so much fun, when it ends I just want to listen again. Its quirks mean that it won’t be for everyone, but I think it’s a perfect way to pass some time.

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