Two years after LCD Soundsystem’s eponymous full-length debut sent indie scenesters rushing to the dancefloor, the outfit headed by dance-rock producer James Murphy serves up another stiff cocktail of punk, dance, and funk with Sound of Silver. Analog synths, chugging basslines, chunky guitars, and Murphy’s wild falsetto excursions are once again the foundation to […]
For the five albums she recorded with her slow-burning country band Trailer Bride, Melissa Swingle weaved her backporch stories and hillbilly jitterbug voice through a peculiar salvo of banjo, mandolin, and stand-up bass. Rising from the ashes of that North Carolina band, the Moaners (guitarist/vocalist Swingle and drummer Laura King) shaker it up, delivering […]
Although the second part of Clint Eastwood diptych about the battle of Iwo Jima following Flags of Our Fathers is told from the point of view of the Japanese troops, the score, by Eastwood’s son Kyle and Michael Stevens, feels very western. As is common in a lot of Hollywood movies, it revolves around […]
What’s terrific about this album is the sound of Charlie Louvin’s voice. Weathered and worn by his 79 years, its fragility underscores the humanity in the morality plays he favors, like the gentle pledge of faith “The Christian Life.” What’s disappointing is its lack of imagination. Despite the presence of skilled contemporary songwriters like […]
Given RZA’s work on both the Ghost Dog and Kill Bill soundtracks, it’s no surprise to see the venerable Wu-Tang producer tackling Afro Samurai. However, unlike the previous albums, where RZA more or less created scores, the Afro Samurai soundtrack is a mix of instrumental and conventional rap songs, featuring an eclectic mix of […]
Young James Morrison has “success story” written all over him. Drawing influence from soul greats like Cat Stevens, Otis Redding, and Van Morrison, debut album Undiscovered reveals this Rugby-born vocalist has the sort of world-weary voice and songwriting chops to take the Later…With Jools Holland path to mainstream success that’s formerly made stars of […]
James Bond themes tend to be just as memorable as their movie counterparts and, to a certain extent, just as time sensitive. While many fans can remember the Monty Norman Orchestra’s steamy Dr. No theme or Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger,” how many of us remember Rita Coolidge’s dated “All Time High” from Octopussy or A-Ha’s […]
The names on this tribute testify to the extraordinarily wide appeal of the Italian film composer Ennio Morricone: not many people could get Bruce Springsteen, Celine Dion, Quincy Jones, Renée Fleming, and Metallica on one disc. And while the artists come from very diverse genres, the album holds together well. Things start off on […]
A film about the relationship between Queen Elizabeth and Tony Blair in the aftermath of Princess Diana’s death had potential for a pretty turgid soundtrack, but fortunately director Stephen Frears called on Alexandre Desplat. The Frenchman has emerged as a composer with a light touch (recall his score for Syriana ) and his work […]
Just as director Steven Soderbergh paid tribute to the atmospheric black and white thrillers of the postwar period with this movie, composer Thomas Newman came up with a score that strives to evoke the majesty of works by the likes of Miklós Rózsa, Max Steiner and, of course, his own father, Alfred Newman. For […]
Philip Glass deserves his Oscar® nod for this superb, richly atmospheric soundtrack. His work on, say, The Hours may have been found overly sappy and intrusive by many, but Notes on a Scandal is a masterful example of what a film score can achieve. Glass has explained that he wrote it from the point […]
Too many soundtracks feel interchangeable, and rare are the composers who really capture a movie’s core. But Javier Navarrete has succeeded in his Oscar-nominated score for Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, a dark fantasy set in 1944 Spain. The first cue, “Long, Long Time Ago,” sets the melancholy tone with piano and voice; the […]
As its title suggests, Mexican director Alejandro González Iñárritu’s film revolves around the transcultural difficulties of human communication. But the linguistic dysfunction that drives the film’s characters towards causal connection and inevitable tragedy has paradoxically inspired just the opposite on this adventurous musical mélange of a soundtrack. The meditative, often hypnotic fretboard inventions of […]
Cars is a typical Disney-Pixar animated movie in that it deals with an anthropomorphic character (here, a car) and the heartwarming values of family and friendship. (Alas, we’ll have to wait a little while longer for the company to take on greed and selfishness.) The accompanying soundtrack is equally typical in that it’s split […]
