Alien Covenant - Jed Kurzel |
5/25/17 |
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What You Will Hear: Full orchestra, synth, and effects.
Standout Tracks: The Covenant, Neutrino Burst, Sails, Planet 4 / Main Theme, Launcher Landing, Cargo Drop, Alien Covenant Theme Will You Be Humming Along? There is a nice theme on the last track but it doesn’t show up much on any other cues. The album this makes me want to dust off: Star Trek The Motion Picture – Jerry Goldsmith (Seriously, listen to Planet 4 / Main Theme and tell me you don’t hear it.) Will I come back to it? I’m not an Alien fan. I don’t know the movies well, and I have a very basic level of experience with the standards set by Goldsmith and Horner. I also hate horror movies, especially when it morphs with my beloved sci-fi. But… I loved this score. I didn’t expect Kurzel to use the orchestra so prominently and diversely. The strings have some beautiful moments (see: Planet 4 / Main Theme), but also slide around in the creepiest ways possible (see: Face Hugger). The flutes (see: Sails) add a bit of humanity and wonder to create some of my favorite cues. The brass are aggressive, but in a simple and powerful way. Their melodic content is limited to a two note ascending half step. The other melodic motif is a collection of two descending fourths, the second a half step lower than the first. Additionally, the percussion is wonderfully mixed (see: Cargo Lift). Whether it is a repeated timpani heartbeat, or quick toms, they are never obnoxious, just always driving things forward. Synth and effects usually annoy me, but they completely held my attention here. Whether it was simple pulsing or effected scraping sounds, I just wanted to hear how Kurzel would try to scare me next. I made the mistake of dozing off during one particularly sinister section – what a rude awakening that was. This is my first experience with Jed Kurzel’s music. Between the unexpected strong use of the full orchestra, and the intriguing effects, I’ll be looking forward to future work from Jed Kurzel. I went into Alien Covenant assuming that I’d listen to it once and never return. I’ll definitely be coming back for one of the only horror/sci-fi/thriller scores that has ever won my praise. |