'Janie Jones' - Soundtrack (featuring Abigail Breslin & Alessandro Nivola)

Janie Jones - Actors Alessandro Nivola and Abigail Breslin play self-destructive rock star father and rediscovered 13-year-old daughter in this music-heavy film based on a true story opening in limited release October 28. Soundtrack album features eight surprisingly good songs sung by the two leads, written by fine Irish songwriter Gemma Hayes (for Breslin's character Janie Jones), who was dating the film's director David M. Rosenthal at the time, and Eef Barzelay of Clem Snide (for Nivola's Ethan Brand) who also handled the film's score...who knew Little Miss Sunshine could sing? Breslin says she's interested in pursuing a musical career on the side // Release: Janie Jones Soundtrack (October 11, Nettwerk) // Sounds like: The film's few rock band tracks are jettisoned in favor of Hayes and Barzelay's straightforward mix of acoustic folk/pop songs...Nivola and Breslin, with only a few weeks of training, both rise to the occasion...while it's clear Breslin's teen charm carries her through -- and she pulls it off handily -- Nivola sounds like a natural...

Quote: "I had a specific idea of the music in my head but wasn't sure who would be exactly right to work with.  I knew a little bit about Clem Snide but wasn't sure until she sent me some of his tracks. I was blown away and immediately started to listen to as much of his music as possible. On top of that, he had written score for film before and there was the opportunity to have a strong thread between Ethan's songs and the tone of the score." - Director David M. Rosenthal // What we like: Album opener "Hurricane" is pure Gemma Hayes bliss, with lush layers of acoustic guitar and Breslin's pleading vocal...Nivola turns "All At Once" into a polished folk gem -- a remarkable performance...Hayes' own "Waiting For You", William Fitzsimmons' hushed "Even Now" and Patrick Watson's "The Great Escape" flesh out the soundtrack nicely...

Abigail Breslin - "Hurricane" (from Janie Jones Soundtrack)

Alessandro Nivola - "All At Once" (from Janie Jones Soundtrack)