A Closer Listen
In 2023, Hollywood strikes and the lingering effects of lockdown slowed the recovery of the movie industry. Audiences showed signs of superhero fatigue, though much of this had to do with scriptwriting. Indie films continued to gravitate to screening, while the window between theatrical and streaming release continued to shrink. Despite such obstacles, success stories still broke through, starting with July 21’s Barbieheimer phenomenon: two movies released on the same day, each ending up in the global top three (with Super Mario Brothers between them).
Our year-end soundtrack picks are spread across genres and budgets, from an indie documentary to a global blockbuster. One is a reworked score; another is a composer’s final work. These albums work just as well as standalone works as they do in context. In some cases, they are even better than the films they accompany. We hope you’ll enjoy this year’s selection of The Year’s Best Film Scores!
Bobby Krlic ~ Beau Is Afraid (A24 Music)
Much was made of the return of The Haxan Cloak this past October, the single “N/Y” a return to form for the producer. This being said, many may have forgotten that the artist is also known as Bobby Krlic. Beau Is Afraid sounds as dark and foreboding as Krlic fans might expect, no matter the moniker. The claustrophobic tone is meant to reflect the protagonist’s mindset, but when the album is separated from the visuals, it becomes a new Halloween classic.
Joe Hisaishi ~ The Boy and the Heron
This one is a double recommendation ~ the first is for the magical score to The Boy and the Heron, which continues the winning streak of Joe Hisaishi. The second is for Deutsche Grammophon’s A Symphonic Celebration – Music from the Studio Ghibli Films of Hayao Miyazaki, released earlier this year from the same composer. The music of Miyazaki’s films has always been part of their appeal, and Hisaishi makes the perfect match.
Alexander Stratonov ~ Bucha: Final Destination
Real life is more horrifying than any horror film. But when real life gets this horrifying, one needs to mitigate the presentation so that people don’t look away. Stratonov does just this, concentrating as much on a mother’s love as on the atrocity of the Bucha massacre. This tonal contrast creates the tension of the score, which serves as both a condemnation of the russian perpetrators and an elegy for the victims.
Robbie Robertson ~ Killers of the Flower Moon (Sony Masterworks)
Robbie Robertson’s voice may only be heard on one track, but it’s a reminder of his legacy, and all we’ve lost. The guitarist passed away in August, just prior to the release of this work, which lends it an additional tone of melancholy (not that the true-life source material isn’t already filled with it). Robertson’s Cayuga and Mohawk lineage lends the score crucial authenticity. A champion of Native American causes throughout his life, Robertson has left on a poignant note.
Ludwig Göransson ~ Oppenheimer (Back Lot Music)
The music is tender and exploratory in scenes of romantic and scientific pursuit, and propulsive and dissonant when the fallout and ramifications of the bomb are revealed. Such balance is hard to achieve and harder to retain, but Göransson, like Christopher Nolan, succeeds. One of the more unique facets of the score is that the tracks are allowed the space to breathe; nothing is incidental, especially the OST’s shortest and most popular track, “Can You Hear the Music.”
Jerkin Fendrix ~ Poor Things (Milan Music)
Poor Things may be one of the most bizarre films of the year, and it’s accompanied by a matching score. Fendrix has the ability to shift from angular and atonal to sweeping and orchestral, often within a single track, imitating the impulses of the title character. As a result, the album, like the film, is filled with sudden surprises. In this composer’s hands, the frazzled edges become whole.
Eðvarð Egilsson and Páll Ragnar Pálsson ~ Skjálfti (Sono Luminus)
The score was handed in, the film was completed, and the composers weren’t done yet. Revisiting their official work, they chose to expand it to an album, with stellar results. The shifting tectonic plates of music reflect the album’s title, translated as Quake. In the most powerful sections, post-rock emerges from the magma, raising the intensity to volcanic levels.
Rebekkah Karijord ~ Songs of Earth (OONA Soundtracks)
This documentary score has already received Scandinavian honors, and we expect it to make an even bigger impact once Margreth Olin’s film is internationally released. The filmmaker follows her aging father across the landscapes of Norway over the course of a year; the composer’s score successfully chronicles the cycle of nature and the course of a human life.
Gazelle Twin ~ Then You Run (Invada)
The chameleon-like nature of Gazelle Twin is on full display here, as this OST means to startle and excite. The only album on our list with a club bent, Then You Run sometimes recalls Midnight Run, its propulsive energy conveyed by savage beats and serpentine synth. We also recommend the artist’s follow-up Black Dog, a more vocal album whose tone seems to spring from this score.
Mica Levi ~ The Zone of Interest
Prepare to be unsettled, disturbed, angered and terrified. Mica Levi has been on this list in prior years (Under the Skin, Jackie, Monos) but this music may freeze the blood. The film is as harrowing as can be, based on a simple premise. The score allows the horror to seep in below the veneer of suburbia. Some things cannot be swept under the rug.
Richard Allen
Wed Dec 13 00:01:54 GMT 2023