The films of David Lynch have always been renowned for their bizarre, surreal nature. However, this attention typically overlooks the music of his films, which are as equally strange. Take, for example, Tractor’s score for Lynch’s early short film The Grandmother, which dives immediately off the deep end of sanity and never surfaces for air.
The film is a dark and grimy surreal horror film where the protagonist is abused by his parents, only finding solace in magic seeds that grow the titular grandmother. Although the film occasionally resembles reality, it is closer to a lunatic’s nightmare world. Tractor latch onto this latter tone, creating a similar chaotic nightmare.
Throughout the score, Tractor avoids traditional notions of music entirely. They fill the film with pummeling noise, such as droning high-pitched buzzing, like a constantly revved electric saw sitting just off screen. The noise creates true chaos, as layers of noise stack atop one another in growing cacophony.
Amplifying the score’s madness is the film’s lack of dialogue. The characters speak in guttural growls and piercing shrieks. Their yelling or “speech” intertwines with the underlying score rather than separating from it (as, say, spoken English would). The result is Cro-Magnon-like vocals overtop minimalist noise and drone. At times there are moments of serenity, such as angelic choirs or more up-tempo organ, but these are short-lived and maintain an undercurrent of dread and darkness.
This is the beauty of short film – it allows everyone involved to experiment.