Continuing with our catch-up of weekly recommended scores, here’s a round-up of scores that caught my attention over the week ending, 26th April 2024.
In the Land of Saints and Sinners (2024) – Diego Baldenweg, Nora Baldenweg & Lionel Baldenweg (Sony Music)
In the Land of Saints and Sinners (dir. Robert Lorenz) is an Irish political thriller set in the 1970s. A former assassin is trying to lead a quiet life away from violence. But it isn’t long before he is embroiled in violent confrontation. The Swiss-Australian composing team of Diego Baldenweg, Nora Baldenweg, and Lionel Baldenweg have been inspired to compose an excellent score that’s full of wonderfully-realised dramatic and emotional moments. Melding aspects of the Western movie genre (e.g., harmonica [featuring the composers’ father, Pfuri Baldenweg]), the music of Ireland (using traditional Irish instruments such as fiddles and bodhran drums), and symphonic orchestra (and choir), the Baldenwegs’ music effortlessly moves between the various musical elements in support of creating an evocative score. of particular note, the versatile use of the harmonic is a key component of the score and it’s used to great effect.
Last Call (2020) – Adrian Ellis (Adrian Ellis)
A woman receives a phone call during a late shift at her office building cleaning job. The call is from a total stranger – he had been trying to call a helpline. He’s contemplating suicide and the woman knows that she must try and keep him from dying. That’s the main premise of Last Call (dir. Gavin Michael Booth), a Canada-filmed feature from 2020. Technically, the 77-minute film is of particular note as the story is told in split screen in two corresponding single takes. Canadian-born composer Adrian Ellis’ award-winning score features a string quartet and piano, and is a beautiful though melancholic creation. Listening to it away from the image, Ellis’ music seems to create an emotional and tense backdrop to the film rather than being overly dramatic. The tension builds throughout the 30-minute album until the final, relatively energetic, track finishes unresolved. This leaves the listener hanging. How does the story end? An excellent listen.
We Grown Now (2024) – Jay Wadley (Milan Records)
We Grown Now (dir. Minhal Baig) is a drama feature which follows two young boys on how they navigate growing up – with both the joys and hardships – in Chicago’s Cabrini-Green housing projects in 1992. The choice of New York-based composer Jay Wadley’s modern chamber music approach to the music for We Grown Now is a very arresting choice. Feeling as though the music is creating an aural tapestry that envelopes the characters, the score is rooted in the Attacca Quartet, with violins, viola and cello weaving wonderfully inventive patterns of music. Vibrant use of a small number of additional instruments – such as flute – adds to create a lively score.
Reel Music 