The year keeps going strong with yet another month full of great film scores. One of the best scores of the year is the genre-transcendent Nope from Michael Abels, and even though I’m covering the month of July, there are a couple of particularly spooky scores just in time for Halloween: Clint Mansell’s She Will and Die Hexen’s You Are Not My Mother. As always, if you think I’ve missed any scores from this month (or any past months), leave a comment or get in touch and I’ll check them out!

Once again there were (as always) too many scores released this month for me to me to cover! Make sure to scroll to the end of this article for a list of even more July scores to check out!

Have a quick read about each of these excellent scores below then give them a listen. Be sure to see what other scores you may have missed by reading past editions of this column or listen to me talk about some of these releases:

Nope – Michael Abels (Review; Interview)

Director Jordan Peele and composer Michael Abels’ third collaboration, Nope, happens to be their biggest yet. Although not always true, in this case bigger is better. Abels’ score is a fascinating genre exploration, mixing some classic cinema and Spaghetti Western sounds with horror dissonance and the occasional foray into kitschy, 1950s’ cowboy show inspired tunes. It all works brilliantly, serving as yet another example of just how damn good Abels is.

She Will – Clint Mansell

Regular readers will know that I’m a big Clint Mansell fan, so it should come as no surprise that I really dug his score for She Will. Alongside In the Earth, it appears Mansell has begun to dip his toes into folk horror, and given the great results I’m all for it. Mansell’s score is full of moody, spooky atmospheres, driven by the use of female vocalizations and glossolalia. The latter elements in particular slowly build into an overwhelming chorus, becoming the triumph of a witchy fairytale.

You Are Not My Mother – Die Hexen

A friend of mine clued me into Die Hexen’s work in short films about two and a half years ago, but it’s been a long wait for her feature debut. With You Are Not My Mother that wait is finally over, and let me say, it was worth it. It’s a haunting score, flitting between alien, otherworldly sounds (on tracks like “The Veil Between Worlds”) and hypnotic melody (particularly the permutations of “Char’s Theme”). In fact, when I first listened to Die Hexen’s score, my wife came into the room and asked “why does it sound like a doom-filled dungeon in here?” What more of a recommendation could you need?

Where the Crawdads Sing – Mychael Danna

My biases showed when I saw that the score release for Mychael Danna’s Where the Crawdads Sing begins with a new Taylor Swift song. But it’s important to throw those away. The score begins with surprisingly eerie atmospheres, as if some unknown beings are slowly crawling out of the bayou, making a beeline for the listener and pouring a darkness into their dreams. While a tinge of darkness always remains, it lifts slightly in favor of an intimate, Southern-gothic feel. It’s romantic, entrancing, and just a little dangerous.

A Few More Scores

As often happens, there were simply too many great scores released in July to cover, so here are a few more:

  • En roue libre – Peter von Poehl
  • Live Is Life – Manuel Riveiro
  • Mr. Malcolm’s List – Amelia Warner (Interview)
  • The Princess – Martin Phipps
  • By Deception – Keith Gillespie and Calum Lane
  • Explorer – Rebekka Karijord
  • Gamestop: Rise of the Players – Jeff Beal
  • Minions: The Rise of Gru – Heitor Pereira
  • The Sea Beast – Mark Mancina
  • Thor: Love and Thunder – Michael Giacchino and Nami Melumad
  • The Time Capsule – Rene G. Boscio
  • Watcher – Nathan Halpern
  • Beat – Sid Acharya
  • Firebird – Krzysztof A. Janczak
  • Jezabel – Tomas Barreiro
  • Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris – Rael Jones
  • Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank – Bear McCreary
  • The Railway Children Return – Edward Farmer and Martin Phipps
  • The Sadness – Tzechar
  • Unloved: Huronia’s Forgotten Children – Michelle Osis