November proved to be a somewhat slower month than normal, the calm before December’s great deluge of excellent scores. This isn’t to say that November’s scores were bad, not at all – the month was still filled with plenty of great scores across genre, from Michael Giacchino’s minimalist Western scoring to Tom Schraeder’s wall of drone.
Have a quick read about each of these excellent scores below then be sure to give them a listen. Be sure to see what other scores you may have missed by reading past editions of this column.
Let Him Go – Michael Giacchino
Michael Giacchino deconstructs the Western in his score for Let Him Go. Much of Giacchino’s stripped-down score is built around acoustic guitar, at first creating a calming, relaxing atmosphere. But noise and percussion break the trance, pushing the music into more sinister, almost horror, territory. Gone is the romance and grandeur found in so many Westerns, replaced with something far gritter and more intimate. It’s a brilliant turn from Giacchino, at times reminiscent of Nick Cave and Warren Ellis’s recent neo-Western work.
The Dark and the Wicked – Tom Schraeder
It’s no secret that I’m a sucker for abrasive, droning, and ugly music, so of course I would enjoy Tom Schraeder’s score to The Dark and the Wicked. Schraeder’s horde of chaos is an uncomfortable onslaught, a constant rumble of sound that occasionally bursts to even harsher extremes. Even its calmer moments fail to relax the listener, being more akin to the erratic trauma of a Chinese water torture. Given this, the score’s 80 minute length can be a lot to digest, but it’s worth it for those musical masochists.
The Kid Detective – Jay McCarrol
I wasn’t familiar with Jay McCarrol before hearing his score for The Kid Detective. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised! Given that it’s a detective film, jazz is abundant throughout the score. But this isn’t simply a hardboiled noir pastiche. McCarrol’s score is also sultry, dangerous, and downright cool, with lighter moments to make room for the film’s comedic undertones as well. In all, it’s another great entry into an already strong year for jazz-leaning scores.
Ammonite – Dustin O’Halloran and Volker Bertelmann (Interview)
Dustin O’Halloran and Volker Bertelmann (aka Hauschka) have had a fruitful collaboration since their Academy Award nominated Lion, but Ammonite may be the duo’s best score yet. It’s hard to overstate just how beautiful a score Ammonite is, largely due to its recurring piano theme (first appearing in the opening track “Fossils”). The delicate, heartful melody sweeps the listener into the story’s romance with an unrivaled intimacy and honesty; everything disappears but the promise of love.