Danny Elfman’s score for Dumbo continues his trademark ominous yet whimsical style. Elfman manages to expertly create a dark score while keeping it kid appropriate and positive, all without the overabundance of memorable melodies more common in his earlier works.
Michael Abels’ Us continues the dark tone. He uses repetitive haunted children’s choirs and grating, discordant string work to create an incredibly uncomfortable, tense environment. His orchestral recomposition of Luniz’s west coast hip hop classic “I Got 5 on It” is an incredibly creative move. Further, it is also quite personally nostalgic.
Clint Mansell’s Out of Blue is a dark, immersive ambient experience whose piano melodies entrance the audience from the very first measure. Between this and last year’s Happy New Year, Colin Burstead, Mansell continually cements himself as one of today’s best film composers.
M83’s Knife + Heart is mostly calming, relaxed electronica. However, he intersperses this feeling with licensed tracks of noise, drone, and harsh as hell electronica. Together, they create an immersive, stylish, and at times raucous score.
The most pleasant surprise comes from Ghanaian-born hip hop artist and film maker Blitz the Ambassador. For The Burial of Kojo he combines rock, trumpet-heavy soul, and symphonic elements with energetic Ghanaian hip hop. Too often these ambitious mashups feel disingenuous. Not here. Blitz injects his score with the heart and authenticity available only to someone who has truly lived the genre. The comparisons to Black Panther will probably be inevitable, but Blitz shows more variety and a greater organic feel.
Jed Kurzel’s score for The Mustang picks up where his work on Macbeth left off – drawn out, atmospheric use of strings to create a wide open and harsh environment.