At this point we’re well over halfway through the year (although my writeups haven’t kept up), and it’s been difficult to figure out my absolute favorites of the year so far. As the last few months have shown, there have been a lot of very good scores, a trend that May continues. Whether it’s the unconventional genre marriages in Karl Frid’s Pleasure or the slightly off kilter Gothic orchestral stylings of Danny Elfman’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, there’s something for everyone this month. 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 May 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:
Pleasure – Karl Frid
Karl Frid’s Pleasure may have technically been released back in October (sources differ), but it’s too exciting and fascinating a score to pass up. So I’ve fudged my own rules in order to include it; sometimes you have to cheat a little. Frid’s score is one of the most bizarre, unexpected genres mashups in a while, mixing rap, opera, EDM, and choral/chanting. Together they balance raunchiness (with some VERY hard-R lyrics) and a sense of the sacred.
Men – Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury (Review)
I can’t seem to stop talking about how the human voice (along with classical guitar and organ) is vastly underused in film scoring. Fortunately, a number of composers dabbling in more unconventional styles, like Gazelle Twin, Lucrecia Dalt, and Tamar-kali, have been utilizing voice in recent years. With Men, Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury join those ranks. The duo mixes haunted vocalizations, biting drones, and pastoral undertones into perhaps the most unsettling score of the year. The ghosts of the English countryside call out, driving us ever deeper into madness.
Firestarter – Cody Carpenter, John Carpenter, and Daniel A. Davies
Cody Carpenter, John Carpenter, and Daniel A. Davies have become a pretty killer synth score trio over the years, building off of decades of John Carpenter’s experience. Firestarter marks the next chapter in that collaboration. Dark, grimy synth and piano fill the score, their signature sound. But Firestarter is far more atmospheric than their prior collaborations, such as Halloween Kills, with its slower pace yielding something more somber and melodramatic than downright scary. This changes by the last few tracks, as they lay down thick, hammering synth melodies and blaring guitar. It’s the sound of a stylish rampage. The score also marks a nice catharsis for the elder Carpenter, having initially been in talks to direct the original Firestarter nearly forty years ago.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – Danny Elfman
It’s easy to complain about the scores for Marvel films (I certainly have), but they’ve occasionally given their composers a bit of free range to be strange, like in Mark Mothersbaugh’s Thor: Ragnarok. The latest example is Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, seeing longtime collaborators director Sam Raimi and composer Danny Elfman reuniting on another Marvel film. At first listen, Elfman’s score seems at home amongst the more restrained, modern orchestral scores of the MCU focusing primarily on a heroic palette. But it’s actually quite layered, with Gothic undertones and light horror elements, the latter particularly noticeable through some classic horror vocalizations. We even hear some more experimental cues, at least for mainstream film music, in tracks like “A Cup of Tea.” The score isn’t Elfman at his most unleashed, but those days are probably long gone; there is a restraint, but it’s still undeniably him.
A Few More Scores
As often happens, there were simply too many great scores released in May to cover, so here are a few more:
- My Name Is Lopez – James Peter Moffatt
- Willi und die Wunderkröte – Amaury Bernier
- Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers – Brian Tyler (Interview)
- La place d’une autre – Frederic Vercheval
- Love Me Instead – Hasan Ozsut
- Trust No One: The Hunt for the Crypto King – David Schweitzer
- The Woodcutter Story – Jonas Struck