Words by Sonal D’Silva

Revenge thrillers, relationship dramas, and a tale of trauma that captured the zeitgeist in this month’s roundup of soundtracks.

Baby Reindeer – Evgueni & Sacha Galperine

5/5

Is there anything left undiscussed about Baby Reindeer, the buzziest show of 2024? While its main characters, backstory, and dramatisation of said backstory have unleashed a firestorm of discourse, we’re pleased to note that there is actually one aspect of the phenomenon that could use more attention: the soundtrack. Composed by siblings Evgueni & Sacha Galperine, the score is a masterclass in evoking maximum disquietude with minimalist techniques.  

 ‘Martha Suite’ sets things up with a haunting vocal motif, ticking clock rhythm, and a falling-pitch fade out around the 1-minute mark before returning with delicate acoustic guitar, the vocal melody disembodied, and a thrumming undertone, all fading out again – this time into a black hole. ‘Donny and Teri’ features detuned keys, a persistent low hum that is felt more than heard, and, just in case you weren’t creeped out enough, some more tremulous, terror-inducing vocal motifs. ‘The Spiral Of Self-Destruction’ features percussion that actually feels like running footsteps, even sounding like they’re at ground level, thus bringing awareness to the height of the mix – not usually something you might pay attention to as a listener.

The textures of the sounds used seem very important to all the pieces – things scrape, screech, bloom, choke, attack, and fade – making it all feel very physical. Extra points for the soundtrack because you don’t even need to have watched the show to appreciate the music – it’s a force all on its own.

Love Lies Bleeding - Clint Mansell

3.5/5

Revenge goes retro with ‘80s synths and propulsive basslines in Clint Mansell’s score for director Rose Glass’ neo-noir thriller Love Lies Bleeding. No stranger to scoring tense and disturbing cinematic worlds (Requiem For A Dream, anyone?), Mansell finds multiple ways to invoke the claustrophobic darkness of shadows and relentless violence in this film with a spare sonic palette.

On tracks like ‘Penalty=Prison’, meditative drones create tension by simply lingering without change until the bass and drums kick in and properly turn up the dread; in ‘Red Light’, swelling pads are accented by metallic hits and layered vocals; and even the emphatically positively titled ‘I Fucking Love You, You Idiot’ is as moody and tense as the rest.

At only eight tracks long, the soundtrack reinforces the fact that the characters inhabit a world of blood-soaked everything. That’s not one note, it’s one truth and Mansell sticks to the message.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga - Tom Holkenborg (aka Junkie XL)

4/5

Strap in for an earth-shaking ride as Tom Holkenborg aka Junkie XL returns to score George Miller’s latest entry in the singular Mad Max universe. After the rock opera that gave us the fire-breathing guitar and speaker rig in Fury Road, we have the prequel Furiosa, for which Holkenborg effortlessly displays his range, be it with the bone-rattling heft of industrial sounds or the raw emotion of a haunting duduk solo.

 It's hard to single out a specific cue to spotlight when the entire 18-track soundtrack offers such rich material, for instance, the many flavours of distortion in ‘The Darkest of Gods’; the symphonic strings of ‘Wives’ Quarters’; and the gritty, imposing, sound-design-meets-music of ‘Dementus’.

The universe of warriors and wastelands demands a monumental soundtrack and Holkenborg is anything but shy. Everything is a high-octane version of itself: beats are thunderous, voices are sirens, and even the silence feels like all the air has been sucked out of the space. The character of Furiosa is one of very few words and lots of physicality and the score mirrors that, in a way – it’s a stripped-down ferocity where, instead of a wall of sound, each instrument and tone is a concentrated packet of pure emotion, making it all the more powerful and impactful.

Challengers - Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross

4/5

Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross reunite with director Luca Guadagnino on Challengers for a score that is more club than court, but then this is not your average sports movie and the techno-heavy 19-track soundtrack establishes that. In the hands of lesser composers the soundtrack could have become a by-the-numbers background blend – a generic uptempo good time – but Reznor & Ross are Hollywood heavyweights for a reason and they came to play with style to spare and more than a few surprises, given the genre.

 A track like ‘Yeah x10’ wouldn’t be out of place at a fashion week with its too-cool-for-school (or words) monosyllabic vocal. The driving beat of ‘Pull Over’ stops for a moment to present a pensive piano interlude before resuming its fast-paced trajectory. ‘L’oeuf’, with its melancholic arpeggiated piano, builds up to a layered vocal section that could easily have come from a lost Steve Reich piece; and amidst the nightclub-ready tracks is ‘Friday Afternoons, Op. 7: A New Year Carol’ with its angelic vocals and soaring optimism.

If you’ve been missing a vocal performance by Reznor in recent years, ‘Compress / Repress’ could fill that gap, even if it feels more Daft Punk than Nine Inch Nails. Like we said, the soundtrack is full of surprises.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes - John Paesano

3/5

For the latest instalment in the Planet Of The Apes franchise, composer John Paesano follows in the footsteps of Michael Giacchino, Patrick Doyle, and legend Jerry Goldsmith with a score that, in true blockbuster fashion, checks all the boxes: it’s dramatic, soaring, and expansive.

 Paesano takes his time exploring the new environment, set 300 years after the death of ape king and leader Caesar. Early cues like ‘Discovery’ feel like the audio equivalent of a slow fade up from black, unfolding at a stately pace with lots of space and lots of silence. ‘Noa’s Purpose’ and ‘We Will Rebuild’ are in danger of becoming sonic wallpaper, that is to say beautiful but generic. Things get exciting in ‘Maybe Echo’, a kinetic action cue that explodes with a burst of percussion, falling back into quiet before moving to a coiled, slow-release crescendo. ‘Human Hunt’ pays homage to Jerry Goldsmith’s avant-garde percussion from the original film.

Outside of the context of the film, the score’s glacial pacing might not be for everyone. However, it does make you wonder if this is what it could sound like if, like in the movie, humans mercifully shut up for a bit and the planet could actually take a breath.