Comedian, provocateur, and Berklee-trained musician Eric Andre will put his bachelors degree to use with the release of a new orchestral album, Film Scores for Films That Don’t Exist, due out May 1st via Stones Throw Records.
Described in a press release as “if Ennio Morricone conducted performances of his score for The Good, the Bad and the Ugly using a stick of dynamite instead of a baton,” the album is the first release from Andre’s musical side project BLARF since 2020’s sample-heavy Cease & Desist. The group originally formed when Andre was studying upright bass at Berklee College of Music but was short-lived.
“We didn’t last long,” Andre told LA Weekly in 2012. “Our drummer got married at 18 to an extremely pro-life woman, and I had a song called ‘I Love Abortions.’ So he quit and killed the band.”
Andre later revived the name as a solo project and released a self-titled EP in 2014.
This latest effort takes BLARF in a decidedly different direction. Recorded with a full orchestra in Budapest with help from film composer Pratikar Rajagopal, who Andre described as “a man whose name I’ve never pronounced correctly,” Film Scores for Films That Don’t Exist is… well, exactly what it sounds like. “I kept coming up with ideas for film scores for films that don’t exist, just because I love listening to John Carpenter and Ennio Morricone,” Andre explained.
The first preview of the album, the single “What’s For Dinner”, starts off with sweeping strings and woodwinds. It builds with the introduction of brass and percussion—exactly what you’d expect from a classic film score—but in true Eric Andre fashion, it takes an unexpected turn, suddenly shifting from an orchestral arrangement to speed metal. There’s an element of humor to be sure—the final notes land like a cheeky punchline—but it’s also fairly cohesive and surprisingly sophisticated.
Ahead of the May 1st release date, Andre will premiere the entire album at Zipper Hall in Los Angeles on April 27th, where he’ll conduct a full orchestra. “It’s gonna be a fun night of chaos, and I’m gonna wear a penguin tuxedo,” he said. Tickets are on sale now.
Listen to “What’s For Dinner” below or on your preferred streaming platform, and click here to pre-order/pre-save Film Scores for Films That Don’t Exist. Scroll down to view the album tracklist.
BLARF – “What’s For Dinner”
Film Scores for Films That Don’t Exist Tracklist:
1. The Final Shootout
2. What’s for Dinner
3. Stars Without Light
4. Piano Concerto No. 0
5. Mercury Dripping Down My Spine
6. Run for Your Death
7. Dead Ballerina
8. 1869 Overture
